Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Has $722,000 Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,557,000 after buying an additional 3,216,801 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $1,326,177,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 46,241.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 840,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,142,000 after buying an additional 838,813 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Deere & Company by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,576,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,962,085,000 after buying an additional 554,133 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Deere & Company by 561.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 531,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,379,000 after buying an additional 451,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.0 %

DE stock traded up $3.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $400.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,562,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,047. The company has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $385.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.39 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 17.12%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.