Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Raises Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $14,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DE. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.23.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $586.06 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $433.00 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $158.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $581.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.53.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Deere & 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.