Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises about 1.7% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,089,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,920,548,000 after acquiring an additional 65,006 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,374,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,767,000 after acquiring an additional 269,571 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,061,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,155,430,000 after acquiring an additional 73,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,105,000 after acquiring an additional 31,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,480,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $592,098,000 after acquiring an additional 149,980 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, reaching $405.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 625,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,851. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.55 and a 52 week high of $450.00. The company has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $393.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $384.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Profile

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.