Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Purchased by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Essex Savings Bank lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $391.41 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $345.55 and a twelve month high of $450.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.73.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of 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 large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, 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.