Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 2,868 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,346,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,329 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 783 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Deere & Company by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.3%

DE stock opened at $523.08 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $141.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $469.33.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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