Premier Fund Managers Ltd Boosts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Deere & Company by 115.6%, owning nearly 30,000 shares worth approximately $13.95 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Deere & Company, with the consensus price target now at $515.50 and ratings ranging from "sell" to "strong buy."
• Deere & Company reported a quarterly EPS of $6.64, exceeding expectations, but the revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 115.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,081 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after purchasing an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,915,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,235,394,000 after purchasing an additional 330,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE traded down $23.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $500.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,156,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,952. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $512.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.52. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock has a market cap of $135.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.50.

Deere & Company 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.