AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Invests $20.97 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 44,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $20,973,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $510.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,125,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,023. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $477.57 and its 200 day moving average is $464.39. 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 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm 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 for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 1.27%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.19.

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.