Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DE. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.21.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $499.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $135.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $466.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.43. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 78,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 49,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $847,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,127,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.