Bollard Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Bollard Group LLC cut its Deere & Company stake by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,263 shares and leaving it with 50,308 shares worth about $23.4 million.
• Deere reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 versus the $5.70 consensus and revenue of $13.37 billion versus estimates of $11.55 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $639.58, even though some firms recently trimmed targets.

Bollard Group LLC trimmed its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,263 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up approximately 0.6% of Bollard Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Bollard Group LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $23,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,514,053,000 after buying an additional 198,332 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,898,717,000 after buying an additional 97,049 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,465,906,000 after buying an additional 3,358,264 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,609,149,000 after buying an additional 17,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $1,715,633,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $577.05 on Friday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $573.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $548.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $680.00 target price (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $639.58.

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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