Deere & Company $DE Shares Acquired by Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC

Key Points

• Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 55.8% in Q4 to 85,351 shares (an additional 30,553 shares), worth $39,737,000 and representing about 7.9% of the firm's portfolio as its 7th largest holding.
• Deere posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting EPS of $2.42 versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $9.61 billion (up 17.5% year-over-year), while analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $655.45.
• Dividend and stock metrics: the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 ($6.48 annualized, ~1.1% yield); DE traded around $587 with a market cap of ~$158.6 billion and a trailing P/E of ~33.

Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,553 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up approximately 7.9% of Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $39,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,514,053,000 after acquiring an additional 198,332 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,850,687,000 after acquiring an additional 322,582 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,244,670,000 after acquiring an additional 141,790 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $868,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Deere & Company by 21.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $829,930,000 after acquiring an additional 323,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded up $27.16 on Thursday, reaching $587.18. 184,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,456. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $433.00 and a 12 month high of $674.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $591.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $580.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $655.45.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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