Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DE. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of DE opened at $586.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $497.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $587.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 177.8% during the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares in the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 20.3% during the second quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.