Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 31.6%, selling 356,225 shares and owning approximately 0.28% of the company, valued at $361,444,000.
• Deere & Company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.75 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue decreased by 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.4%, scheduled to be paid to stockholders on November 10th.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 770,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 356,225 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.28% of Deere & Company worth $361,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,395,000 after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 8,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,871,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,588,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DE. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 target price on Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.87.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:DE traded down $7.01 on Tuesday, hitting $474.51. 518,878 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,756. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $378.66 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The company has a market capitalization of $128.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $500.77 and its 200 day moving average is $490.65.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.87%.

Deere & Company Profile

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.