Weitzel Financial Services Inc. Increases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Weitzel Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up about 2.2% of Weitzel Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Weitzel Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1,475.0% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 63 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Lansing Street Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.0% in the first quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 73 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, 25 LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE DE traded down $0.51 on Friday, hitting $411.17. The stock had a trading volume of 590,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,596,094. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $328.62 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $417.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $399.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $118.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.14 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 33.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 14.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $383.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $512.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $459.90.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,398,598.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total transaction of $2,104,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,398,598.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Profile

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.