Deere & Company $DE Position Lifted by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,993 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $61,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $736.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $680.00 price target (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.08.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.6%

DE stock opened at $542.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $433.00 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $572.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $542.07. The stock has a market cap of $146.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.