Deere & Company $DE Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. sharply increased its Deere stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 1,725.8% to 2,003,715 shares worth about $932.9 million.
• Deere reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.42 versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $9.61 billion versus $7.50 billion expected, while revenue rose 17.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on the stock: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $655.45, with several firms recently lifting their targets as high as $775.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1,725.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.74% of Deere & Company worth $932,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,480,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,675,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 4.4% during the third quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $562.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $151.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $580.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $537.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Argus boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently 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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