Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 35.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,983 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,855 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,481,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 6.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Roundview Capital LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
DE traded up $1.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $162.49. 1,037,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,023,852. The company has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $128.32 and a twelve month high of $167.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.46.
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks' consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $6.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.83 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 28.83% and a net margin of 8.85%. Deere & Company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.
In other Deere & Company news, insider John C. May II sold 11,661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.21, for a total value of $1,868,208.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,743 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,586.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on DE. DZ Bank lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 19th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 15th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $211.00 to $209.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 19th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $176.73.
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