Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $3.23 Million in Deere & Company $DE

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,227,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $25,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Argus raised their target price on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price 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. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $577.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $573.27 and a 200-day moving average of $548.89. The firm has a market cap of $155.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio 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.