Advisory Alpha LLC Acquires 285 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,939,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.0% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $463.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $126.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $469.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $432.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $403.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.83.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.