Naples Money Management LLC Invests $29,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 73 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $2,403,000. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $617,000. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $400.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $385.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $382.97. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $345.55 and a 1-year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DE. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Melius lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Profile

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.