BLB&B Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its stake in Deere by 78.9% in Q4, selling 22,967 shares and leaving it with 6,139 shares valued at about $2.86 million.
• Deere beat quarterly estimates, reporting $2.42 EPS versus $1.90 expected and $9.61 billion in revenue versus $7.50 billion, with revenue up 17.5% year-over-year.
• Deere announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share (annualized $6.48, yield 1.1%) and holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" from analysts with an average target near $655.45.

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 78.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 22,967 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in Deere & Company by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,402,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 66.1% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 27,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,606,000 after buying an additional 10,974 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 263.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,942,000 after acquiring an additional 12,551 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Deere & Company by 14.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,682,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 110,328 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $596.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The company's 50 day moving average price is $594.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $580.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $655.45.

About Deere & Company

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.

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