Harvey Investment Co. LLC Reduces Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 53,338.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,602,000 after purchasing an additional 852,885 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 46,892.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,218,000 after purchasing an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $464.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $445.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.26. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84. The company has a market capitalization of $126.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DE. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average 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.