Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Deere & Company by 26.2%, owning 12,187 shares valued at $5.72 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Major institutional investors such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc. have increased their stakes, with Vanguard now holding over $10 billion worth of Deere shares.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets on Deere, with a consensus price target of $520.87 and a variety of ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold".

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,319 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,750,163 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $571,073,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $255,686,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $149,057,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,876,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,227,258,000 after buying an additional 286,253 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DE. Melius Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.87.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.3%

Deere & Company stock traded down $6.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $475.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,203,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,358,866. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $500.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $490.65. The stock has a market cap of $128.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $378.66 and a 52 week high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.87%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.