Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,715,633,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 278.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,005,000 after purchasing an additional 358,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,930,000 after purchasing an additional 323,512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of DE opened at $583.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $545.60. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.