Swiss National Bank Sells 4,600 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6%, now owning 729,600 shares valued at approximately $342 million.
• Deere & Company reported earnings of $6.64 per share, surpassing estimates, despite a 17.9% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 31.35%.

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 729,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of Deere & Company worth $342,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Leisure Capital Management boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.8% during the first quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 2,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.5% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on DE shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $555.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $523.93.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $506.10. The company had a trading volume of 633,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,449. The company has a market capitalization of $137.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $512.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $489.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a one year low of $346.00 and a one year high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Deere & Company Profile

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.