Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 206,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $86,337,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Deere & Company at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $459.27. 1,166,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,505,819. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $413.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.13. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $469.39. The stock has a market cap of $125.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.90 by $0.65. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $436.41.

About Deere & Company

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.