Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 9,727 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its Deere & Company stake by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,727 shares and leaving it with 24,357 shares valued at about $11.45 million.
• Deere reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $6.55 versus expectations of $5.70 and revenue of $13.37 billion, topping analysts’ estimates and rising 5.4% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $639.58.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,727 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,538,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $573.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $572.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $546.79. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $154.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.64 EPS. Deere & Company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.08 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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