First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 335 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 53,338.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,602,000 after purchasing an additional 852,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,218,000 after purchasing an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $442.83.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $478.90 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $479.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $130.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $438.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $406.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

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.