Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $524.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $609.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in Deere & Company by 4.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 12,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $514.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $482.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

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.