Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Buys 1,112 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $2,580,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $299,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $433,000. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $424,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $436,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $516.75.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded down $1.74 on Wednesday, hitting $507.89. 739,835 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,405,844. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $474.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.54. The company has a market cap of $137.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.