Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Boosts Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,431,000 after purchasing 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 third 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 valued at $722,733,000 after purchasing an additional 85,401 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $484.08 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $484.39. 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 company has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $438.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $406.44.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DE. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.83.

About Deere & Company

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.