Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $12.70 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,951 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DE. Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Deere & Company by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 39,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,886,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 44,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,023,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $480.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $130.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $446.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $416.83. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year 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.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $450.12.

Deere & Company 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.