Eldred Rock Partners LLC Boosts Position in Deere & Company $DE

Eldred Rock Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up 4.2% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $19,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 53.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,893,972 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $868,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,239 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 56,230.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 610,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $343,961,000 after acquiring an additional 609,533 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $622.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $433.00 and a 12 month high of $674.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $599.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $584.43. The stock has a market cap of $167.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.26 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Fourteen investment 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, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.98.

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.