Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Up 1%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $391.82 and last traded at $391.37. 398,189 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,453,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DE. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 11.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 516,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 153,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 11,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.