Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 49.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Deere & Company by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,465,906,000 after acquiring an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,725.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $932,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 56,230.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 610,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $343,961,000 after purchasing an additional 609,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $628.84 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $576.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $561.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend 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.