Evercore ISI Raises Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Price Target to $378.00

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $371.00 to $378.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $415.50.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $377.08 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $367.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.05. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $423.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 8.0% in the second quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 6,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $971,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 76.1% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $1,090,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.