Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 4,404 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has reduced its holdings in Deere & Company by 20.6%, selling 4,404 shares and now owning 17,010 shares valued at about $7.98 million.
• Deere & Company reported earnings per share of $4.75 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue was down 9.0% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, providing an annual yield of 1.4%, with a payout ratio of 33.87%.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,404 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $822,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,163 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $571,073,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,686,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,057,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Deere & Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,876,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,227,258,000 after purchasing an additional 286,253 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $472.74 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $501.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $490.71. The company has a market cap of $127.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $378.66 and a twelve month high of $533.78.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $619.00 to $602.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.