Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its Deere & Company stake by 592.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 189,558 shares valued at about $88.3 million.
• Several other large investors also added to positions in DE, and 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, highlighting strong institutional interest.
• Deere recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $6.55 versus $5.70 expected and revenue of $13.37 billion; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $639.58.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 592.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 162,201 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $88,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,514,053,000 after buying an additional 198,332 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,898,717,000 after buying an additional 97,049 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,465,906,000 after buying an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,609,149,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,633,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $680.00 price target (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $577.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $155.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $573.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $549.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $433.00 and a 12 month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

About Deere & Company

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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