Ballentine Partners LLC Raises Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Centennial Bank AR raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 420.0% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE DE opened at $456.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $431.48 and its 200 day moving average is $402.53. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $469.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.26 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $442.83.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.