Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 7,533 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,533 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $48,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,525,000. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of DE stock traded up $11.97 on Wednesday, reaching $520.33. 1,096,809 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,357,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $502.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.86. The company has a market capitalization of $140.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up previously from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $515.19.

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.