West Family Investments Inc. Increases Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 53.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 57 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 406.7% during the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 76 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $465.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19. Deere & Company has a one year low of $403.01 and a one year high of $533.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $467.10 and its 200 day moving average is $490.53.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total transaction of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $440.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $565.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.45.

Deere & 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.