Value Partners Investments Inc. Acquires 455 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 51.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Security National Bank increased its position in Deere & Company by 30.2% during the first quarter. Security National Bank now owns 7,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,750,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Cvfg LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 15.7% during the first quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of DE stock opened at $506.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $137.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.85. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $515.19.

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.