North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Takes $986,000 Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. opened a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter, buying 2,117 shares valued at about $986,000.
• Institutional interest in Deere remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding 68.58% of the stock; several large firms also increased their stakes significantly.
• Deere reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with $6.55 EPS and $13.37 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $639.58.

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 278.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $223,005,000 after purchasing an additional 358,687 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Deere & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus increased their target price on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.8%

Deere & Company stock opened at $578.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $156.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $572.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.52.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. 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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