Northcape Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,089,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,920,548,000 after purchasing an additional 65,006 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,374,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,650,767,000 after purchasing an additional 269,571 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,061,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,155,430,000 after purchasing an additional 73,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,539,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $581,052,000 after purchasing an additional 33,946 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,146,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,561,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE DE traded down $9.55 on Tuesday, hitting $391.41. 973,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,829. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $388.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $383.65. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $345.55 and a fifty-two week high of $450.00. 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 company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion during 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%. Deere & Company’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 earned $6.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Deere & Company’s dividend 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.