Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Fisher Funds Management LTD

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management LTD cut its Deere & Company stake by 51.2% in the first quarter, selling 28,747 shares and leaving it with 27,369 shares valued at about $15.4 million.
• Deere’s latest earnings beat Wall Street expectations, reporting $6.55 EPS on $13.37 billion in revenue, both above estimates, while revenue rose 5.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive despite some target-price cuts: Deere has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $639.58 average price target, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

Fisher Funds Management LTD reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 51.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,369 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,747 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in Deere & Company by 7.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.7% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $680.00 price objective (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $590.37 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $573.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $553.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.Deere & Company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.