Westerkirk Capital Inc. Has $487,000 Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 53.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 278.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,005,000 after purchasing an additional 358,687 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $578.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $572.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

About Deere & Company

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.