ING Groep NV Boosts Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

ING Groep NV boosted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 275.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 62,948 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $39,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.3%

DE opened at $583.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $157.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $572.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $545.60.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.71%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.