Savant Capital LLC Sells 1,656 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Savant Capital LLC lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,656 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Deere & Company by 69.2% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.08.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $542.34 on Friday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $433.00 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $572.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $542.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.