LGT Group Foundation Purchases Shares of 281 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1,180.0% during 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 bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of DE traded up $6.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $387.71. 346,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,211. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.93 and a 52 week high of $441.46. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $372.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $383.84. The company has a market capitalization of $106.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DE. Citigroup began coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $426.71.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.