Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,647 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises approximately 3.1% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $48,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 857.9% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 6,855 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,783,000. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 75,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,323,000 after purchasing an additional 13,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $414.11.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE traded down $2.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $381.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,670,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,021. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $417.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $369.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $380.51.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The business’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.