Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 21.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 801 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 20.5% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,906,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Royal Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 99.8% during the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after buying an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,984,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $405.71 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $420.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $402.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 20.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.69.

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.