Ascent Group LLC Raises Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,254,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,259,000 after buying an additional 60,255 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 15.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,146,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $802,037,000 after buying an additional 279,627 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,431,000 after acquiring an additional 158,732 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $722,733,000 after acquiring an additional 85,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $459.27 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $415.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $389.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $469.39. The company has a market capitalization of $125.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 22.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $436.41.

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.