Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Increases Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 371.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 price objective (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $575.87 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The company has a market capitalization of $155.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $573.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $549.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.