Prudential PLC Sells 684 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in Deere & Company by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, selling 684 shares and holding 4,399 shares worth $2,065,000 afterward.
• Deere & Company's stock fell by 6.5%, with its recent earnings reporting $4.75 per share, which exceeded the consensus estimate, despite a 9% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Following recent dividend declarations, Deere & Company has a dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 31.35%, with an annualized dividend of $6.48 per share.

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,399 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 684 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 83,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the period. Iyo Bank Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 11.5% during the first quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. now owns 10,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the first quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 16,753 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,015,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1,304.5% during the first quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 22,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,501,000 after purchasing an additional 20,781 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Planning Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 17.3% during the first quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. 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 report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $521.47.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of DE stock traded up $9.84 on Friday, reaching $488.68. 2,673,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,860. The stock has a market cap of $132.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.06. Deere & Company has a one year low of $371.16 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $511.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $489.97.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.