Optas LLC Grows Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Optas LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,247,216,000 after acquiring an additional 97,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $1,244,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $509.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $487.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $468.55. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.53 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $546.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.19.

About Deere & Company

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.