Royal Bank of Canada Has $484.51 Million Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 13.3%, now holding approximately $484.5 million worth of shares.
• Several large investors have also made moves regarding Deere, with Graham Capital Management L.P. increasing their stake by 97.7% during the same quarter.
• Deere recently reported strong quarterly earnings of $4.75 per share, surpassing expectations by $0.13, though revenue was down 9% year-over-year.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,032,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 158,577 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.38% of Deere & Company worth $484,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 97.7% during the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth $751,000. Trace Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Trace Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $2.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $472.74. 1,262,365 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,360,299. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $502.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.07. Deere & Company has a one year low of $378.66 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DE shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.