Armor Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.52 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up 1.0% of Armor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Armor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth 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 position in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $470.22 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $445.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $413.46. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $485.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $446.17.

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.