Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,329 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $74,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 116.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $514.86. 849,887 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,351,568. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.39. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The company has a market capitalization of $139.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer set a $560.00 target price on Deere & Company and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.50.

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.