Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 53,603 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 17.9%, selling 53,603 shares during the first quarter, now holding a total of 245,480 shares valued at $115.1 million.
• Deere & Company recently reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, significantly beating estimates, but revenues fell 17.9% year-over-year to $11.17 billion.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share reflects a 1.3% yield and a payout ratio of 31.35% based on current earnings.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 53,603 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Deere & Company worth $115,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Deere & Company by 8.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. grew its position in Deere & Company by 11.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 1,304.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital Planning Advisors LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 17.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $521.47.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded up $9.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $488.68. 2,673,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,318,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.19. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $371.16 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $489.89. The company has a market cap of $132.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.06.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's 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.