Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 52,696 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 10.4%, selling 52,696 shares, while still holding 456,367 shares valued at $214.2 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Norges Bank and Price T Rowe Associates, increased their investments in Deere, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Deere & Company reported EPS of $6.64, exceeding estimates, but revenue decreased 17.9% year-over-year, highlighting mixed financial performance.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 52,696 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.17% of Deere & Company worth $214,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 387.0% during the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% in the first quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 36,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,315,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 117,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,209,000 after buying an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,599 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,076,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 103.0% in the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE traded down $2.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $508.09. The stock had a trading volume of 424,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,618. The firm has a market cap of $137.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $485.53.

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. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.53 EPS. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DE. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $515.50.

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.