National Bank of Canada FI Increases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 26.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 167,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 34,764 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $60,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 725.0% during the 1st quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $383.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.93. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $417.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $368.87 and its 200 day moving average is $380.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DE. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $414.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.