Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 5,896 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Deere stake by 59.3% in the first quarter, purchasing 5,896 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 15,834 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Deere receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $642.98, though individual targets range from $590 to $752.
• Deere reported quarterly earnings of $6.55 per share and revenue of $13.37 billion, surpassing analyst estimates; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, representing a 1.0% annual yield.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 59.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,896 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,514,053,000 after purchasing an additional 198,332 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,898,717,000 after purchasing an additional 97,049 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,692,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,581,574,000 after purchasing an additional 158,584 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,609,149,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $752.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $642.98.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.5%

DE stock opened at $640.78 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $587.92 and its 200 day moving average is $579.01. The stock has a market cap of $172.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.64 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

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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