Deere & Company $DE Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 19,974 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $66,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Anchyra Partners LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the first quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 2,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Advisortrust Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $642.98.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $586.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $158.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $582.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $572.84. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

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.