Investment Management Corp of Ontario Buys 2,800 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 47.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 53,338.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,602,000 after purchasing an additional 852,885 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,218,000 after buying an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,937,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DE. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. HSBC downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Twelve 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $436.41.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $459.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $469.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $415.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $389.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.97%.

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.