Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC cut its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,126 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on DE. Citigroup began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $426.71.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $9.73 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $376.82. 1,489,671 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,501,366. The company has a market cap of $103.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $372.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $383.63. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.93 and a 1 year high of $441.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.