Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,846 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $22,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,244,094,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $822,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,163 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,792,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer set a $560.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $499.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,064,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,379. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The firm has a market cap of $135.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $512.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.65.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

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.