CENTRAL TRUST Co Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,060 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,244,094,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $822,781,000 after buying an additional 1,750,163 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:DE traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $523.08. 862,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $141.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $468.95.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Deere & Company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Melius Research upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.19.

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.