Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Up 1.8%

Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $400.88 and last traded at $400.47. 197,488 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,456,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $387.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.52. The company has a market cap of $111.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% during the first quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 200.5% in the first quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 6,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511 shares during the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 8.6% in the first quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 10,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 6.3% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 23.3% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.