Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,099 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE traded down $8.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $498.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,302,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,323. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $512.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $479.60. The company has a market cap of $135.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $542.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Melius raised Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Melius Research upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.50.

About Deere & Company

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.