Virtu Financial LLC Sells 4,857 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,857 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,514,053,000 after acquiring an additional 198,332 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,898,717,000 after purchasing an additional 97,049 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,692,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,581,574,000 after purchasing an additional 158,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,600,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,609,149,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $639.58.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $590.37 on Friday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $433.00 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $574.09 and its 200-day moving average is $552.39.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.