Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DE. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 5.2% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $14,541,000. Retirement Income Solutions Inc acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 27.1% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 32.4% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 114,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,496,000 after purchasing an additional 27,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

DE stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $400.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,125,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,741. The firm has a market cap of $111.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $345.55 and a 12-month high of $450.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $385.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.97.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

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.