JT Stratford LLC Sells 754 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

JT Stratford LLC lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,115 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 754 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $515.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $472.03 and a 200 day moving average of $457.60. The company has a market cap of $139.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on DE shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $516.75.

Deere & Company 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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