SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 123,025 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Deere & Company stake by 50.1% in Q1, selling 123,025 shares and leaving it with 122,349 shares worth about $68.9 million.
• Deere reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $6.55 versus estimates of $5.70 and revenue of $13.37 billion versus expectations of $11.55 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, payable August 10, implying an annualized dividend of $6.48 and a yield of about 1.1%.

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 50.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 123,025 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $68,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,514,053,000 after acquiring an additional 198,332 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,898,717,000 after purchasing an additional 97,049 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,692,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,581,574,000 after purchasing an additional 158,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,609,149,000 after buying an additional 17,269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $598.80 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $573.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $554.17. The company has a market capitalization of $161.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Deere & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $639.58.

About Deere & Company

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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