M Holdings Securities Inc. Purchases New Shares in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter, purchasing 11,373 shares valued at about $5.3 million.
• Deere reported strong fiscal Q1 results, with earnings per share of $6.55 beating estimates and revenue of $13.37 billion coming in above expectations, while revenue rose 5.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $639.58.

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,295,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Family Legacy Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,675,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $560.95 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $573.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $548.11. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $639.58.

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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