Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,244,094,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $822,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,163 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on DE. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $542.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE DE opened at $519.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $479.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.58. The company has a market capitalization of $140.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Deere & Company's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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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