Telemark Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Telemark Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company, acquiring 20,000 shares valued at approximately $9.39 million in the first quarter.
• Deere & Company reported $6.64 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but its quarterly revenue dropped 17.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 31.35% as of June 30th.

Telemark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,387,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 14.1% in the first quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 14.9% during the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 391,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $186,748,000 after purchasing an additional 50,828 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 455,144 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $213,622,000 after buying an additional 46,039 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,032 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $214,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Melius upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $523.93.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $506.41. 633,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,326,449. The stock has a market cap of $137.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.06. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $346.00 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $512.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $489.58. 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 (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given 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 yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.