Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Invests $50.66 Million in Deere & Company $DE

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 108,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,663,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $932,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $868,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,239 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 278.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,005,000 after acquiring an additional 358,687 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,930,000 after acquiring an additional 323,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,850,687,000 after acquiring an additional 322,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $736.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $638.08.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $542.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $572.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $542.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.