MidFirst Bank Invests $1.17 Million in Deere & Company $DE

MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,801,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 85,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,737,000 after acquiring an additional 30,553 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,651,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $755,385,000 after acquiring an additional 115,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eldred Rock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Deere & Company stock opened at $590.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $573.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $552.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

About Deere & Company

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.