Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Buys New Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.9% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,336,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 301.4% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Freestate Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $239,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. HSBC downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.69.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $411.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $420.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $387.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $385.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

About Deere & Company

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.