Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $237,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $615,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,155,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $484.08 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $438.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $484.39. The company has a market capitalization of $131.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $442.83.

About Deere & Company

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.