Zhang Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 264.7% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1 %

DE stock opened at $400.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $385.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.97. The company has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.