Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Position Cut by Balefire LLC

Balefire LLC cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises about 2.2% of Balefire LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,566,884,000 after buying an additional 157,224 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after buying an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $1,244,094,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.4%

Deere & Company stock opened at $506.87 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $498.19 and its 200 day moving average is $471.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DE shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.