Blue Capital Inc. Sells 20,859 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Blue Capital Inc. cut its Deere & Company stake by 95.2% in the first quarter, selling 20,859 shares and leaving it with 1,044 shares worth about $588,000.
• Deere reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 versus the $5.70 consensus and revenue of $13.37 billion, up 5.4% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, payable August 10, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $642.23.

Blue Capital Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 95.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,044 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,859 shares during the quarter. Blue Capital Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,538,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $621.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average is $577.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.28. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $433.00 and a 52-week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $759.00 to $812.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $642.23.

Deere & Company Profile

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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