Traynor Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,492 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,254,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,259,000 after purchasing an additional 60,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,431,000 after purchasing an additional 158,732 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $459.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $433.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $403.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $469.39.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $442.83.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.