Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $2.16 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial started coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $494.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DE opened at $387.50 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $345.55 and a twelve month high of $450.00. The company has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $389.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.