Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stake Lifted by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Centennial Bank AR lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 420.0% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $443.28.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $440.45 on Friday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $469.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $420.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $392.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $120.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.97%.

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.