Deere & Company $DE Stock: Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Position

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its Deere stake by 3.9% in the third quarter, adding 123,209 shares to reach 3.30 million shares, valued at about $2.22 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 68.58% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 17 Buy ratings and eight Hold ratings; the average price target is $688.10.
• Deere beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $5.10 per share versus $4.69 expected and revenue of $12.61 billion, up 6.2% year over year. It also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,302,584 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 123,209 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 1.22% of Deere & Company worth $2,217,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $11,763,504,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $1,685,093,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $1,259,279,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $957,456,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,088,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,959,209,000 after buying an additional 1,412,694 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on DE shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Seaport Research Partners set a $570.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Deere & Company from $680.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $688.10.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:DE opened at $678.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $455.90 and a twelve month high of $721.22. The company has a market cap of $183.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $668.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $611.46.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.69 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $12.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.81 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.75 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.11 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.00%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known as John Deere, manufactures and distributes equipment and technology for agriculture, construction, forestry, and lawn care. Its products include tractors, combines, planting and spraying equipment, construction machinery, forestry equipment, and turf-care products, along with related parts and services. The company also provides precision agriculture technologies designed to help customers monitor and manage equipment and field operations. Through its Financial Services business, Deere offers financing and leasing options for equipment and related products.

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