Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 235 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 23.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $822,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,163 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,792,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James increased their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $507.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $476.02 and a 200-day moving average of $463.74. The company has a market cap of $137.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

About Deere & Company

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.