First Bancorp Inc ME Increases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Bancorp Inc ME increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $520.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $495.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.82. The stock has a market cap of $141.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company’s revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.