Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 34,683 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34,683 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $68,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,763,504,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,685,093,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,259,279,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $630.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $611.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $593.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $680.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $732.00 to $728.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $570.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.48.

Deere & 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.