Schear Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises 1.1% of Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $2,403,000. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $617,000. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten 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 an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $400.48. The company had a trading volume of 479,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,239. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $385.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.79. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

About Deere & Company

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.