Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Acquires New Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,590,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 78,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 49,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,021,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $847,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,127,000. Finally, Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $3,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE traded down $3.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $517.01. 796,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,397,151. The company has a market cap of $140.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $483.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Deere & Company 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.