Whitener Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 0.8% of Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 20.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 99.8% in the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after buying an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,984,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 90,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,923,000 after buying an additional 1,963 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $400.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.49. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $420.47. The stock has a market cap of $109.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. HSBC lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.69.

Deere & 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.