American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 19.4%, owning 339,700 shares valued at approximately $159.4 million after acquiring additional shares in Q1.
• Deere & Company reported earnings of $4.75 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, but showed a 9% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors currently hold about 68.58% of Deere & Company's stock, reflecting strong interest from various financial firms.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 339,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,079 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.13% of Deere & Company worth $159,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.9% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 32,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,431,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,900,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 411,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,184,000 after acquiring an additional 38,031 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 267,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $124,404,000 after purchasing an additional 39,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded down $1.9330 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $489.1970. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,493,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,368,200. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $510.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $371.76 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $132.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $619.00 to $602.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.