Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 50,006 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Deere & Company by 47.1%, holding 156,173 shares valued at approximately $73.3 million.
• Deere reported quarterly earnings of $6.64 per share, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.72, despite a 17.9% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, which represents a 1.25% dividend yield and will be paid on August 8th to investors of record on June 30th.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,173 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,006 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $73,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 116.1% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Bank of America increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $546.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $515.50.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $511.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 439,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,402. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $512.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.72. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.