Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 876 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 65.7%, selling 876 shares and now holds 457 shares valued at $232,000.
• Several large investors increased their positions in Deere during the second quarter, with institutional ownership now at 68.58%.
• Deere & Company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, with a yield of 1.4%, payable on November 10th.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 65.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 457 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 876 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 58.0% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the second quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 8,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $1,825,000. DMKC Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 199.1% during the second quarter. DMKC Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,508,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,827 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DE. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Melius Research upgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $565.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $488.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $566.00 to $512.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $518.06.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $461.88 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $485.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $489.22. Deere & Company has a one year low of $387.03 and a one year high of $533.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.03. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

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.

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