Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE traded up $5.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $400.96. 1,626,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,337,641. The company has a market cap of $111.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.04. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $391.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $383.87. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.55 and a 52-week high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Profile

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.