Washington Trust Bank Sells 2,722 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Washington Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises about 1.0% of Washington Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $14,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,994,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 137.7% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 7,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,799,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.7% during the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on DE shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $732.00 to $728.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Seaport Research Partners set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $680.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.48.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3%

DE opened at $630.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $611.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $593.34. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.69 by $0.41. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The firm had revenue of $12.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.00%.

About Deere & Company

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.