First Affirmative Financial Network Purchases 154 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 76.1% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 234,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,785,000 after purchasing an additional 10,899 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Creekside Partners bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $422,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $22,367,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $478.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $441.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $408.11. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $485.84. The firm has a market cap of $130.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $444.50.

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.