Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Down 0.6%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)’s stock price was down 0.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $391.56 and last traded at $391.59. Approximately 155,682 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,462,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on DE. Truist Financial began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $494.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Melius lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $387.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $383.56. The company has a market cap of $109.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,180.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.