Bailard Inc. Acquires 2,458 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 156.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $494.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded down $2.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $391.65. The company had a trading volume of 166,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,462,332. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $345.55 and a twelve month high of $450.00. The company has a market capitalization of $109.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $387.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $383.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly 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. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.