Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Increases Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 70.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,219 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 3,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 10,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 545,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,002,000 after purchasing an additional 35,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 3,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE traded down $3.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $393.70. 274,807 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,471,608. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.39. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.55 and a 52-week high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DE shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

About Deere & Company

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.