Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 2,971 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $759.00 to $812.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $685.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.98.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $611.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $164.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $588.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $579.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.