Essex Financial Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at $49,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DE. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $513.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $500.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Deere & Company 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.