St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Has $1.05 Million Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Centennial Bank AR boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 420.0% in the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.83.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $475.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $129.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $475.92. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $435.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $404.30.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

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.