Sarasin & Partners LLP Lowers Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 136,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,202 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $86,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $222,000. Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $307,000. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 11,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,565,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.98.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $613.86 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $433.00 and a 12 month high of $674.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $597.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $584.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $165.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 is presently 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.