Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,675 Deere & Company $DE

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,234,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DE. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $575,000. Cornerstone Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $318,000. First Community Trust NA lifted its position in Deere & Company by 1.6% during the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 14,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,068,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Ballast Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 4,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $590.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $685.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $641.98.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $608.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $164.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $603.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $587.77. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.26 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.