Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $386.64 and last traded at $393.01. 1,865,373 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 46% from the average session volume of 1,279,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $384.95 and a 200-day moving average of $382.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 104,373.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,380,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216,801 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,248,036,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $562,442,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,241.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 840,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,142,000 after buying an additional 838,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,856,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,967,000 after buying an additional 705,771 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.