Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,144 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 67.6%, holding 1,504 shares worth approximately $706,000 after selling 3,144 shares in the first quarter.
• Deere & Company reported an EPS of $4.75 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $4.62, but experienced a 9.0% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Several analysts have adjusted their target prices for Deere's stock, with Citigroup lowering it to $525.00, while Oppenheimer raised it to $566.00, reflecting mixed sentiments on the stock's performance.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 67.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,144 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fosun International Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 50.2% in the first quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 25,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,813,000 after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.2% in the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 128,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE traded up $8.3320 on Friday, reaching $495.0920. The stock had a trading volume of 1,133,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,461,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $508.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $490.43. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $374.46 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $134.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The company's revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on DE shares. Melius raised Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $523.87.

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.