Eastern Bank Increases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 293.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.69.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $406.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $420.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $395.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $385.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.70%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.