Apollon Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,508 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded up $1.00 on Monday, hitting $401.96. 1,042,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,467,164. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $392.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $384.02.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.12%.

About Deere & Company

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.