Strs Ohio Takes Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has taken a new position in Deere & Company by purchasing 58,924 shares valued at approximately $27.66 million during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have also increased their holdings in Deere, contributing to institutional investors owning 68.58% of the company's stock.
• Deere recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.75 EPS, exceeding estimates, and declared a dividend of $1.62 per share, with a payout ratio of 33.87%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 58,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $27,656,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,063,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,355,546,000 after buying an additional 185,671 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,876,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,227,258,000 after buying an additional 286,253 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,815,817 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $852,254,000 after buying an additional 35,075 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,780,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $754,500,000 after buying an additional 48,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,750,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Melius upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.87.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $476.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $498.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $490.35. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $383.10 and a 52-week high of $533.78.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

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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