Stockbridge Partners LLC Buys 540,874 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises approximately 7.4% of Stockbridge Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Stockbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Deere & Company worth $369,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Centennial Bank AR grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $466.21. 732,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,450,964. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $388.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $469.39.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $0.65. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Deere & Company from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $436.41.

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.