Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $397.66 and traded as high as $427.89. Deere & Company shares last traded at $424.64, with a volume of 792,479 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $443.94.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $426.65 and a 200-day moving average of $397.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $115.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Centennial Bank AR grew its stake in Deere & Company by 420.0% in the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% 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.