Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Price Target Lowered to $625.00 at Citigroup

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $675.00 to $625.00 in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on DE. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $600.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $554.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $500.43.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company 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 sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.1% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,989,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 691.4% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,046,000 after acquiring an additional 8,670 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.