Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Leisure Capital Management

Leisure Capital Management lowered its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 236,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,322,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,284,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,640,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 483.3% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,604,000 after acquiring an additional 14,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $393.33. 998,338 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,125. The stock has a market cap of $109.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.55 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $387.86 and its 200 day moving average is $383.61.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.