Deere & Company $DE Shares Purchased by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,125 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $85,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 1,725.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $868,149,000 after buying an additional 1,721,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Deere & Company by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,436,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,134,465,000 after buying an additional 597,087 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DE. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DE stock opened at $590.37 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $574.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $552.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

About Deere & Company

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.