American Trust Has $3.77 Million Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

American Trust lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 997 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3%

Deere & Company stock traded up $6.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $509.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 583,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $475.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.23. The company has a market capitalization of $138.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $516.75.

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.