Community Bank N.A. Grows Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $3.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $390.88. The stock had a trading volume of 683,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,655. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $345.55 and a fifty-two week high of $450.00. The firm has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $383.47.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company 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.