Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is First Community Trust NA’s 2nd Largest Position

First Community Trust NA raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 116.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,583 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up approximately 8.8% of First Community Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 15,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,939,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 303,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,412,000 after purchasing an additional 34,262 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 2,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 16,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $432.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $429.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.87. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $469.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 report 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $441.72.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.