USS Investment Management Ltd Has $21.39 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $21,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,244,094,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,792,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $296,232,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $513.00.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.7%

Deere & Company stock opened at $525.86 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $456.41. The stock has a market cap of $142.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company’s revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.53 EPS. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.