Baring Financial LLC Invests $319,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Baring Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $444.50.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $478.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $441.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $485.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.31%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.