Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Purchased by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $398.80. 628,407 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,478,528. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a one year low of $345.55 and a one year high of $450.00. The company has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.26.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

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.