Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Cuts Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 36,741 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.12% of Deere & Company worth $147,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 58.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 10.7% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 8,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,863,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,144,000. Stratos Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 28.2% during the first quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $514.97. The company had a trading volume of 356,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,397. The company has a market capitalization of $139.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $513.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $483.06. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company's revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.53 EPS. As a group, 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 Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on DE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.50.

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.