Stratos Investment Management LLC Invests $271,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 578 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Deere & Company by 58.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,395,000 after buying an additional 5,053 shares in the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $3,144,000. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 11,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $542.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:DE traded down $7.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $512.17. 1,046,929 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,346,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $510.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.07. The firm has a market cap of $138.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio 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.