D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 2,598 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,598 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $35,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Melius Research upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. 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, Barclays upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $2.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $517.50. The stock had a trading volume of 470,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,450. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $474.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.