Deere & Company $DE Holdings Cut by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its Deere & Company stake by 39.2% in Q1, selling 26,972 shares and leaving it with 41,828 shares valued at about $23.6 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Deere, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $642.23, though several firms recently trimmed their individual targets.
• Deere reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 on revenue of $13.37 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 26,972 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $23,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,514,053,000 after purchasing an additional 198,332 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,898,717,000 after purchasing an additional 97,049 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,692,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,581,574,000 after purchasing an additional 158,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,609,149,000 after buying an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $642.23.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of DE stock opened at $587.36 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $581.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $567.68. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $158.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Deere & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: D.A. Davidson’s new coverage on AGCO highlighted that weak farm conditions can still support equipment makers like Deere, reinforcing the view that replacement demand and pricing power may hold up better than expected for agricultural OEMs. Farming Is Terrible Right Now. That’s Good for Deere and AGCO Stocks.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer was upbeat on Deere, calling the stock “incredible” and suggesting it still has room to go higher, which may help sentiment around the shares. Jim Cramer on Deere & Company: “The Stock Is Incredible, and It’s Not Done Going Higher”
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst report on Deere was published, but no clear thesis or rating details were provided in the feed, so it is likely a limited near-term catalyst. Analyst Report: Deere & Co
• Negative Sentiment: Deere settled a right-to-repair dispute with the FTC, requiring it to provide farmers and independent repair providers the same repair resources as authorized dealers for 10 years. Investors may see this as a hit to Deere’s control over service revenue and after-sales economics. Deere settles right to repair dispute with FTC

About Deere & Company

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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