Deere & Company $DE Stock: Willis Investment Counsel Trims Stake

Willis Investment Counsel reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 49.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,900 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Boyd Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boyd Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 36,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,407,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,961,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 5,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $813.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seaport Research Partners set a $570.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $640.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.10.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $7.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $634.16. 394,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,301. The company has a market cap of $170.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $658.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $612.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $454.50 and a fifty-two week high of $721.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.69 by $0.41. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $12.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, founded by blacksmith John Deere in 1837, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction, forestry and turf-care equipment. The company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and operates under the John Deere brand.

Its products include tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesting equipment, loaders, excavators, motor graders, forestry machines, mowers and compact utility equipment. Deere also provides replacement parts, equipment support, financing and technology-enabled solutions designed to improve machine productivity, automation and precision in farming and other industries.

Deere serves customers through dealerships and operations across North America, Latin America, Europe and other international markets.