Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 43.2% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 4,149 shares valued at nearly $1.95 million.
• Deere & Company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $6.64, surpassing estimates of $5.72, despite a 17.9% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62, representing a dividend yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 31.35% scheduled for payment on August 8th.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,161 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 10.7% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 8,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,863,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,144,000. Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $271,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 28.2% during the first quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $524.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $512.43 and a 200 day moving average of $486.52. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DE. Melius raised Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

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.

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