Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires 286,253 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.3%, now owning 6,876,013 shares valued at approximately $3.23 billion.
• Deere reported earnings of $4.75 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates and revenue expectations despite a 9% decrease compared to the previous year.
• The company has a current dividend yield of 1.3%, with a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 33.87%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,876,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 286,253 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.53% of Deere & Company worth $3,227,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Fosun International Ltd bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth $229,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 25,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,813,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.2% during the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 128,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $492.4310 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $509.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $490.15. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $372.12 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The firm's revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 33.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DE. Citigroup lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.87.

Deere & 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.

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