National Bank of Canada FI Sells 44,217 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44,217 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $54,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $1,248,036,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,241.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 840,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,142,000 after purchasing an additional 838,813 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,856,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,967,000 after purchasing an additional 705,771 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,988,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,031,500,000 after purchasing an additional 263,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3,064.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 175,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,038,000 after purchasing an additional 169,843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $2.13 on Wednesday, reaching $369.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,246,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,146. The firm has a market cap of $101.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $373.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $383.86. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.93 and a 1 year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $426.71.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.