Fortis Group Advisors LLC Acquires 135 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.0 %

DE stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $378.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,485,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,963. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $104.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $390.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $386.25. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $353.15 and a 1-year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $433.36.

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.