PFG Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

PFG Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 1,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,645,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.83.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $478.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $438.55 and a 200-day moving average of $406.05. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $479.48. The company 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.