Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 7,640 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 86,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,640 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $34,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DE traded down $4.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $374.96. 1,511,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,758. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00. The company has a market capitalization of $104.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $386.52.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 25.8 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 17.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $456.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.92.

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.