Albion Financial Group UT Makes New $111,000 Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE DE opened at $459.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $469.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $433.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.91.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $442.83.

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.