Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 384,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 3.1% in the first quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 2,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.1% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 75,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,638,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the first quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 10,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,872,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 17.4% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $512.17 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $510.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $478.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $515.19.

About Deere & Company

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.