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

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $644.70.

Several brokerages have weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $577.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $564.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $503.08.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% 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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 30.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,143,000 after buying an additional 85,351 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,615,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,550,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its position in Deere & Company by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 27,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,606,000 after purchasing an additional 10,974 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.