Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stake Raised by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Baxter Bros Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 5,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,373,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group grew its position in Deere & Company by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 1,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,129,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of DE stock traded up $5.00 on Friday, hitting $400.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,626,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $345.55 and a fifty-two week high of $450.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $391.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $383.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

About Deere & Company

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.