ERn Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

ERn Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 264.7% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Finally, Melius lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $431.69.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DE traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $410.74. 1,426,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,207. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $381.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $345.55 and a twelve month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.12%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.