Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,769 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of DE traded down $3.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $525.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,574. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $469.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.92. The company has a market cap of $142.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DE. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $513.00.

Deere & Company 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.