Friday Financial Buys 1,960 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Friday Financial lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 200.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the quarter. Friday Financial’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.7%

DE stock opened at $569.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $153.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $574.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $506.98. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.70.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.