VELA Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 264.7% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DE stock traded down $3.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $393.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,352,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,115. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $384.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.39. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.55 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

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.