485 Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Acquired by Family Investment Center Inc.

Family Investment Center Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $47,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $476.29 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $444.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $410.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $485.84.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $444.50.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.