Unison Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Deere & Company $DE

Unison Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up about 1.5% of Unison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Unison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 8,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $529.99 on Wednesday. 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 $143.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $574.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $541.18.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $11.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on DE shares. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.83.

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.