James Investment Research Inc. Lowers Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

James Investment Research Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,772,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 2,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $448.72.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $480.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $130.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $485.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $416.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

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.