First American Trust FSB Buys 128 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First American Trust FSB raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $2.32 on Tuesday, hitting $391.48. 626,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,483,717. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $382.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $108.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $345.55 and a 12-month high of $450.00.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

About Deere & Company

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.