Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Deere & Company $DE

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 85,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,737,000 after purchasing an additional 30,553 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 388,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,919,000 after purchasing an additional 45,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $608.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $603.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $587.77. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $433.00 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.26 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were 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 was Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $641.98.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.