Sarasin & Partners LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,202 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.05% of Deere & Company worth $86,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $613.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $597.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $584.16. The firm has a market cap of $165.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.26 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.98.

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.