Range Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DE. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 725.0% in the first quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.1 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $383.69 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $417.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $368.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $380.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.20 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 25.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.70%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DE. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $414.11.

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.