Deere & Company $DE Shares Purchased by Oak Harvest Investment Services

Key Points

• Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1,443.8% in Q4, buying 15,405 shares to hold 16,472 shares worth about $7.67 million.
• Deere posted a quarterly beat with EPS $2.42 vs. $1.90 expected and revenue of $9.61 billion (up 17.5% YoY), and analysts project about 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Multiple brokerages raised price targets sharply (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $730, DA Davidson to $775) while MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $655.45, and Deere announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 (annualized $6.48, ~1.1% yield; ex-dividend March 31).

Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1,443.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,405 shares during the quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services' holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 278.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $223,005,000 after acquiring an additional 358,687 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at about $143,519,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 71.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 531,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $242,834,000 after purchasing an additional 221,456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $590.10 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's 50-day moving average price is $595.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $521.29. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $159.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $655.45.

Deere & 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.