Challenger Wealth Management Makes New $424,000 Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James increased their target price on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $516.75.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $507.89. The stock had a trading volume of 739,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,844. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $473.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $460.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $137.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $533.78.

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 company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Deere & 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.