Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 1,047 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 4,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 5.2% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $397.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $109.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $373.48 and a 200-day moving average of $382.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $417.46.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 25.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.88.

Deere & Company 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.