Cullen Investment Group LTD. Cuts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,150 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,435 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 1.8% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% in 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 buying an additional 157,224 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,247,216,000 after acquiring an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $1,244,094,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $546.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $504.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,713. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $475.54 and a 200 day moving average of $462.98. The company has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.