1,053 Shares in Deere & Company $DE Purchased by J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $590.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $573.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $552.66. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

About Deere & Company

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.