Deere & Company $DE Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.9%, owning 32,252 shares valued at approximately $15.43 million at the end of Q1.
• Deere & Company's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 12.40% and revenue of $10.36 billion, which beat analyst expectations, although it reflected a 9% decline compared to the prior year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.48, with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 31.35%.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,063,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,355,546,000 after acquiring an additional 185,671 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,566,884,000 after purchasing an additional 157,224 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,915,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,235,394,000 after purchasing an additional 330,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,587,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,179,000 after purchasing an additional 184,203 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of DE traded up $9.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $488.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,673,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,399,365. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $511.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $490.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $371.16 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The firm has a market cap of $132.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Deere & Company from $619.00 to $602.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $521.47.

About Deere & Company

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.