Deere & Company $DE Stock Position Lifted by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $16,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $562.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $151.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $580.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $537.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.