Martin Currie Ltd. Has $829,000 Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Martin Currie Ltd. has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 27.6%, owning 1,767 shares valued at approximately $829,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Brokerages show mixed sentiments on Deere, with DA Davidson and Goldman Sachs maintaining "buy" ratings, while others have lowered price targets, indicating a consensus rating of "Hold" for the stock.
• Deere reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.75 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue decline of 9%.

Martin Currie Ltd. decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 116.1% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $523.93.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $480.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $511.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $489.83. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $357.90 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $130.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.33 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 payout ratio is 31.35%.

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.

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