Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $490.95 and last traded at $491.97, with a volume of 298658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $480.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.6 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $449.95 and its 200 day moving average is $419.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.