Robert W. Baird Lowers Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Price Target to $580.00

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $675.00 to $580.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.78% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on DE. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.95.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $575.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $584.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $512.66. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19. 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 (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

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