Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.9% during the second quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% during the second quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.0% during the second quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.2% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:DE opened at $461.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $467.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $489.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $124.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued 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 is presently 33.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $510.00 to $440.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.72.

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.