Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,661 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $110,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,763,504,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,898,717,000 after acquiring an additional 97,049 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,692,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,581,574,000 after purchasing an additional 158,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,609,149,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on Deere & Company from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.48.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $630.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $611.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $593.34.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

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.