Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 152 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $513.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $500.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.91. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $139.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released 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 return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.