Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 3,016 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,566,884,000 after buying an additional 157,224 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after acquiring an additional 97,203 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,244,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $509.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $472.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $458.36. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DE shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $516.75.

Deere & 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.