Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Deere & Company $DE

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 40,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,454,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Deere & Company from $570.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $732.00 to $728.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.48.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $630.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $611.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $593.34. The stock has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.69 by $0.41. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business had revenue of $12.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

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.