VCI Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,915 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 46,241.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 840,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,142,000 after buying an additional 838,813 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,374,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,650,767,000 after purchasing an additional 269,571 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 301,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,759,000 after purchasing an additional 146,069 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $43,384,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $38,876,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $393.96. 1,316,485 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,478,384. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $383.47. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $345.55 and a 1-year high of $450.00. The company has a market cap of $109.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DE. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

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.