G&S Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

G&S Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,431,000 after acquiring an additional 158,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 5.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,733,000 after acquiring an additional 85,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on DE shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $446.17.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $476.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $485.84. The company has a market capitalization of $129.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $445.86 and its 200 day moving average is $415.14.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.