Ascent Group LLC Acquires 790 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 57.3% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 790 shares, bringing their total to 2,168 shares valued at approximately $1,018,000.
• Deere & Company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.62, despite a 9.0% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, with a yield of 1.4%, set to be paid on November 10th to shareholders of record on September 30th.

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 57.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 790 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 57 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.3%

DE opened at $475.33 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $378.66 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $500.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $490.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.87.

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.

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