Viking Fund Management LLC Has $2.05 Million Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Viking Fund Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $494.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $431.14.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DE traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $376.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,677,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $103.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $387.01. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $353.15 and a twelve month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.61 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.