Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.7% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.0% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.3% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $457.47 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $483.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $489.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $387.03 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $123.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.18.

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.