M Holdings Securities Inc. Invests $5.30 Million in Deere & Company $DE

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 11,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,295,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $560.95 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $573.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $548.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company 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.