Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Deere & Company stake by 17% in the first quarter, adding 38,910 shares and bringing its total holding to 267,308 shares worth about $150.6 million.
• Deere continues to attract significant institutional interest, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning about 68.6% of the stock.
• Deere recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $6.55 EPS and $13.37 billion in revenue, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,910 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.10% of Deere & Company worth $150,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 16,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,490,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 48,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Finally, Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 88,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Deere & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Deere & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: D.A. Davidson’s new coverage on AGCO highlighted that weak farm conditions can still support equipment makers like Deere, reinforcing the view that replacement demand and pricing power may hold up better than expected for agricultural OEMs. Farming Is Terrible Right Now. That’s Good for Deere and AGCO Stocks.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer was upbeat on Deere, calling the stock “incredible” and suggesting it still has room to go higher, which may help sentiment around the shares. Jim Cramer on Deere & Company: “The Stock Is Incredible, and It’s Not Done Going Higher”
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst report on Deere was published, but no clear thesis or rating details were provided in the feed, so it is likely a limited near-term catalyst. Analyst Report: Deere & Co
• Negative Sentiment: Deere settled a right-to-repair dispute with the FTC, requiring it to provide farmers and independent repair providers the same repair resources as authorized dealers for 10 years. Investors may see this as a hit to Deere’s control over service revenue and after-sales economics. Deere settles right to repair dispute with FTC

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $5.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $587.36. 782,098 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,307. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $158.55 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The stock's 50-day moving average is $581.74 and its 200-day moving average is $566.99.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.Deere & Company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $642.23.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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