Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 10,982 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 1.6% to 688,174 shares, worth approximately $323 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 68.58% of Deere's stock, with notable increases in positions from firms like Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates.
• Deere & Company recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.75 EPS, exceeding analyst estimates, despite a 9.0% year-over-year revenue decline.

Raymond James Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 688,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,982 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Deere & Company worth $322,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 116.1% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $2.9910 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $492.4310. 1,438,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,368,648. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $372.12 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $510.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $490.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 target price on Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $523.87.

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.