Berkshire Bank Boosts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Berkshire Bank grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 16.7% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.9% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Signature Wealth Management Group increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.4% during the first quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $524.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $141.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $489.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.95.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 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.