Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 24,190 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 514,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $209,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 20.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $440.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.67. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $469.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $443.28.

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.