HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 1.0%, owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $105.11 million after selling 2,337 shares.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Deere & Company, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its stake by an extraordinary 61,215.9% during the first quarter.
• Deere & Company reported a quarterly EPS of $6.64, surpassing analyst estimates, while the company's revenue of $11.17 billion was also above expectations despite a year-over-year decline of 17.9%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,337 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Deere & Company worth $105,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,081,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,502,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $906,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,763,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock traded up $9.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $488.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,673,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,860. Deere & Company has a one year low of $371.16 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $511.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $489.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%. Deere & Company's revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $619.00 to $602.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Melius upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $521.47.

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.