Deere & Company $DE Shares Bought by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 11% to 22,834 shares valued at about $10.63 million; institutional investors now own roughly 68.58% of the stock.
• Analysts remain mostly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $655.45, while several firms raised targets (e.g., Raymond James $765, Argus $700, RBC $736).
• Deere beat quarterly estimates — EPS $2.42 vs. $1.90 and revenue $9.61B vs. $7.50B — and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 (annual $6.48, ~1.1% yield).

Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd raised its position in Deere & Company by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forefront Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Argus increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $765.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $580.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $591.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $590.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $159.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

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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