Trust Co. of Vermont Takes Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont acquired 18,240 Deere & Company shares worth approximately $11.57 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company, with Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management making a particularly large new investment of about $383.1 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 14 Buy ratings and nine Holds. Deere has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $641.98, despite recent target reductions from JPMorgan and Oppenheimer.
• Deere exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $6.55 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $5.70 consensus estimate and $13.37 billion in revenue. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $11,570,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at $770,000. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $311,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $383,111,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,150,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $680.00 price objective (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $590.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $641.98.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $600.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The firm has a market cap of $161.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $603.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $588.84.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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