Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $3.70 Million Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group cut its Deere & Company stake by 21.2% in Q1, selling 1,766 shares and leaving it with 6,571 shares valued at about $3.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted holdings, and institutions now own about 68.58% of Deere’s stock, highlighting continued heavy institutional interest.
• Deere reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $6.55 versus $5.70 expected and revenue of $13.37 billion; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lessened its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 21.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,766 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 85,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,737,000 after purchasing an additional 30,553 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,224,000 after buying an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 7.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,651,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $755,385,000 after buying an additional 115,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eldred Rock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,166,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Deere & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $639.58.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $590.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The business's 50-day moving average price is $573.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $553.26.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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