Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE – Get Rating) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $459.05.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $520.00 in a report on Monday, November 28th. StockNews.com raised Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Deere & Company from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $492.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 6,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.12, for a total transaction of $2,686,300.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,413,059.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.12, for a total value of $2,686,300.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,413,059.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.75, for a total value of $817,159.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,555.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,339 shares of company stock worth $13,872,361 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 151.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heritage Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 411.8% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.72% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $408.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $283.81 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $430.48 and a 200-day moving average of $380.36.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 23rd. The industrial products company reported $7.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.08 by $0.36. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $14.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.64 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.57%.

About Deere & Company

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Deere & Company manufactures and distributes 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 mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, 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.