Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Down 1.4%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares were down 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $393.60 and last traded at $395.34. Approximately 190,890 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,449,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $400.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Melius lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $389.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $383.76.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $817,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 38,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.