Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires New Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management has acquired 23,659 shares of Deere & Company, valued at approximately $11.1 million during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Deere & Company, with Raymond James upgrading the target price from $530 to $560 and many maintaining a "buy" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $515.50.
• Deere & Company reported earnings of $6.64 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, set to be paid on August 8th.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $11,104,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 116.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE traded down $22.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $501.41. 948,672 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,338,781. The stock has a market cap of $135.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $512.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.52. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.53 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

About Deere & Company

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.