Davis R M Inc. Acquires 1,250 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 2.6%, owning 48,742 shares valued at approximately $22.9 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• Analysts' price targets for Deere & Company vary widely, with Raymond James increasing its target to $560 and Wall Street Zen downgrading to a "sell," reflecting mixed sentiment on the stock.
• Deere & Company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $6.64 for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates and signifying a shift despite a decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Davis R M Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $22,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME increased its position in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company by 4.5% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.50.

Deere & Company Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $23.43 on Friday, hitting $500.94. 1,623,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,072,546. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $512.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.99. 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 has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $135.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.