Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $4.54 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,000. Deere & Company makes up approximately 1.4% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,380,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,326,177,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Deere & Company by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,576,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,962,085,000 after purchasing an additional 554,133 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Deere & Company by 561.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 531,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,379,000 after purchasing an additional 451,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $139,112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.4 %

DE stock traded up $1.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $410.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,426,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,207. The business has a 50-day moving average of $380.44 and a 200-day moving average of $381.52. Deere & Company has a one year low of $345.55 and a one year high of $450.00. The stock has a market cap of $114.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $431.69.

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.