Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases New Position in Deere & Company $DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,295,000. Signet Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $353,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.8%

Deere & Company stock opened at $560.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $573.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $548.11. The company has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & 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.