Madison Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,628 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $36,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $685.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.98.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of DE opened at $586.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $582.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $572.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.