Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Position in Deere & Company $DE

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 173,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,661 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $110,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,763,504,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,685,093,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,259,279,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $570.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.48.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE opened at $630.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $611.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $593.34. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.69 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $12.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.81 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 10.16%.Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.75 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.00%.

About Deere & Company

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.