Deere Raised Its Cash Dividend: Second Increase in 2018

In a press release on December 5, Deere (DE) announced the key dates for its fourth dividend of 2018. To be eligible for the dividend, investors should hold Deere stock as of December 31. Deere is expected to pay dividends on February 1. Caterpillar (CAT), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) paid their latest dividend of $0.86, $0.66, and $1.00 per share.

Deere has declared a dividend of $0.76 per share, which is an increase of ~10.1% over the previous quarter’s dividend. The dividend reflected an increase of 26.66% over the dividend in the same quarter the previous year. At the end of the fourth quarter, Deere had 327.3 million in outstanding common shares. Assuming that no buybacks take place before the record date, Deere would be paying ~$248.75 million as dividends.

Deere’s dividend, which has remained stagnant for a while at $0.60 per share, has witnessed two dividend rate increases in 2018—a pleasant surprise for investors. Since 2014, Deere’s dividend has grown at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of ~1.0%.

Next, we’ll discuss Deere’s dividend yield trend since 2014. Investors could hold Deere indirectly by investing in the iShares MSCI Global Agriculture Producers ETF (VEGI), which has invested 15.1% of its portfolio in Deere as of December 28.