Symmetry Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Symmetry Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% in 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 buying an additional 65,006 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 269,571 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,856,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,967,000 after purchasing an additional 705,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $1,248,036,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 73,601 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.0 %

DE traded up $3.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $382.98. 826,348 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,456,059. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $389.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $386.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $353.15 and a 12-month high of $450.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $456.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $433.36.

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.