Fire Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,368,000. Deere & Company comprises about 1.8% of Fire Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 97,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $504.75. 308,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,396,556. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.19.

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.