Verity & Verity LLC Makes New $209,000 Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake 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 during the period. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $21,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $847,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,127,000. Finally, Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,144,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DE. Melius Research raised Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $517.01 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $485.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $468.18. The company has a market cap of $140.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.