National Pension Service Acquires 8,220 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 444,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of Deere & Company worth $177,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

DE traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $405.32. 640,327 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,911. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.55 and a 52 week high of $450.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $393.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $384.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $494.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

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.