V Square Quantitative Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% in the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $466.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $445.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $415.14. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $485.84. The company has a market cap of $127.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $446.17.

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.