Phillips Financial Management LLC Invests $448,000 in Deere & Company $DE

Phillips Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.7% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DE. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $655.45.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $590.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $159.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $595.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.29. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

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.