Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 59.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,896 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on DE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 price target (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.98.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $640.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $587.92 and its 200 day moving average is $579.01. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $172.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.71%.

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.