Whitener Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 0.9% of Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Deere & Company Stock Up 4.0 %

DE stock opened at $456.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $469.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $430.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $401.33.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.