Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $18,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $6,950,000. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,987,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 47,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,094,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of DE opened at $583.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $572.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $545.60. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $157.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G 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.

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. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $639.58.

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.