Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 17,820 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Deere & Company by 38.6%, now owning 28,347 shares worth approximately $13.30 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Hold" for Deere & Company, with a price target averaging $515.50, while some firms upgraded the stock to "buy" rating.
• Deere & Company reported an EPS of $6.64 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $11.17 billion, though down 17.9% year-over-year.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,820 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.7% during the first quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 1,322 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.5%

Deere & Company stock traded down $2.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $507.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,027,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,231. The firm's fifty day moving average is $512.28 and its 200-day moving average is $488.12. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $342.70 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.53 EPS. Deere & Company's revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Deere & 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.