Deere & Company $DE Stock Holdings Lowered by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Deere & Company by 20%, now owning 40,369 shares worth approximately $18.96 million after selling 10,100 shares.
• Deere & Company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, which is set to be paid on November 10th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.
• Despite a 0.5% drop in stock price, analysts maintain a consensus target price of $520.87, with one Strong Buy, eight Buy, and nine Hold ratings issued for the company.

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,369 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,100 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $18,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 93.6% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 175,572 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,390,000 after purchasing an additional 84,896 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 30,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 123.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $491.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Melius upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $5.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $471.42. 696,144 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,354,698. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $386.42 and a 52 week high of $533.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $498.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

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.