Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 18.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.9% in the second quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.2% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.7% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.72.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE DE opened at $468.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $387.03 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $469.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $489.60. The company has a market capitalization of $126.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.87%.

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.