Commerce Bank Lowers Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 2.2%, ending the first quarter with 118,823 shares valued at approximately $55.77 million.
• Deere & Company reported an EPS of $6.64 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, despite a 17.9% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 31.35%.

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,670 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $55,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the 4th 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. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,915,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,235,394,000 after acquiring an additional 330,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,587,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,179,000 after acquiring an additional 184,203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $524.18 on Friday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a market capitalization of $141.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.52.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.50.

About Deere & Company

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.

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