Forum Financial Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP cut its Deere stake by 19.2% in the first quarter, selling 2,882 shares and ending with 12,111 shares valued at about $6.82 million.
• Deere reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 versus estimates of $5.70 and revenue of $13.37 billion versus expectations of $11.55 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, payable August 10, which annualizes to $6.48 per share and implies a 1.0% yield.

Forum Financial Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,882 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after buying an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $932,870,000 after buying an additional 1,893,972 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $868,149,000 after buying an additional 1,721,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 56,230.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 610,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $343,961,000 after buying an additional 609,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $627.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $575.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $559.08. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. Deere & Company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Deere & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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