Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys Shares of 14,305 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $6.71 million in Deere & Company, acquiring 14,305 shares of the industrial products company.
• Deere & Company reported a 12.40% net margin and earnings of $6.64 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.72 in its latest quarterly results.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62, which will be paid on August 8th, yielding an annualized dividend of 1.27%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,714,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 115.6% in the 1st quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 29,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,947,000 after acquiring an additional 16,081 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth about $988,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, SLT Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth about $245,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of DE traded down $23.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $501.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,156,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,952. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.52. The firm has a market cap of $135.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.