Spring Capital Management LLC Purchases 579 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Spring Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,093 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises 4.8% of Spring Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Spring Capital Management LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $216,000. Kendall Capital Management increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.1% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 15,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,733,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 16,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,033,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE traded up $17.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $456.57. 2,315,484 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 906,286. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $469.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $431.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $402.25.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $442.83.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.