Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions reduced its Deere & Company stake by 24.1% in Q1, selling 47,410 shares and leaving it with 149,148 shares worth about $84.0 million.
• Deere reported strong fiscal Q2 results, with earnings of $6.55 per share on revenue of $13.37 billion, both ahead of Wall Street expectations.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $642.98.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 24.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 47,410 shares during the period. Deere & Company accounts for about 1.1% of ABN Amro Investment Solutions' portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned about 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $84,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors boosted 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 in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 56,230.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 610,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $343,961,000 after purchasing an additional 609,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $588.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $158.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $582.48 and a 200 day moving average of $573.70.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given 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 payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $685.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $642.98.

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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