Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Position Boosted by Foster Group Inc.

Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,243,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DE. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $510.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $478.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 31.35%.

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.

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