CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Grows Position in Deere & Company $DE

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 116.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 982.1% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $299,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $468.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $387.03 and a 52 week high of $533.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $492.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.16.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $488.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $566.00 to $512.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.27.

Deere & Company Profile

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.