Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys New Position in Deere & Company $DE

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $608.73 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $603.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $588.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $590.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $641.98.

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.