Webster Bank N. A. Increases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DE. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $456.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Raymond James started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $430.55.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DE traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $373.63. The company had a trading volume of 6,689,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,983. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $353.15 and a 1-year high of $450.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $102.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $385.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $387.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Deere & Company 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.