Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Trims Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for approximately 1.2% of Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schnieders Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 9,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 10,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,037,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Finally, Mosaic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $411,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

DE traded down $2.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $397.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,277,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,179. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.39. The stock has a market cap of $110.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.55 and a 52 week high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on DE. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Melius downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

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.