Deere & Company $DE Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Key Points

• Aviva PLC increased its Deere stake by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,674 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 218,441 shares valued at about $101.7 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Deere, with 14 Buy ratings and 9 Hold ratings; the consensus target price is $639.58, even as some firms recently adjusted their price targets and ratings.
• Deere reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 versus estimates of $5.70 and revenue of $13.37 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share payable August 10.

Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,441 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,674 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.08% of Deere & Company worth $101,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 85,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,737,000 after purchasing an additional 30,553 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,682,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $434,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $569.09 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $573.17 and a 200-day moving average of $548.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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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