Primecap Management Co. CA Takes Position in Deere & Company $DE

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 72,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,097,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,707,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,890,000. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 30,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in Deere & Company by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $633.36 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $170.97 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $610.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $592.80.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.69 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $12.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.81 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 10.16%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DE. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $680.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $732.00 to $728.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.48.

Deere & 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.