Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. has increased its stake in Deere & Company by 5.4%, owning a total of 23,599 shares valued at approximately $11,076,000 as of the latest quarter.
• Deere & Company reported $6.64 earnings per share in its last quarterly results, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.72 and showcasing a net margin of 12.40%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $6.48 and a yield of 1.25%, scheduled for payment on August 8th.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,599 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $822,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,163 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,736 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $255,686,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer set a $560.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock traded up $2.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $517.58. The company had a trading volume of 858,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,224. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $513.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $484.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.