Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 633 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 633 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 8,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,863,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $3,144,000. Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer set a $560.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.50.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, reaching $499.95. 1,064,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,181. The firm's 50 day moving average is $512.70 and its 200-day moving average is $480.12. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market cap of $135.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion during 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 firm's revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 31.35%.

Deere & Company 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.