Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Grows Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 131.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 valued at $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,431,000 after buying an additional 158,732 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,733,000 after buying an additional 85,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:DE opened at $466.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $127.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $445.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $415.14. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DE. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $446.17.

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.