Olstein Capital Management L.P. Lowers Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,250 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. 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 report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:DE opened at $519.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $479.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $466.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly 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 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

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.