United Asset Strategies Inc. Takes $2.50 Million Position in Deere & Company $DE

United Asset Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,496,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,395,000 after acquiring an additional 5,053 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 10.7% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 8,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,863,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,871,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $13,588,000. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth about $271,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $492.4310 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $509.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $490.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $372.12 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock has a market cap of $133.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $488.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $523.87.

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.