First Merchants Corp Increases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Merchants Corp increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 162.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 264.7% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $412.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $114.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. Deere & Company has a one year low of $345.55 and a one year high of $450.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $383.32 and a 200 day moving average of $381.49.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.41 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $494.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $431.28.

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.