Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Position Trimmed by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,839 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Deere & Company by 1,475.0% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 63 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $27,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, 25 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DE stock traded down $2.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $378.42. 357,585 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,547,354. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $345.55 and a 1-year high of $450.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $383.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $394.25.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.22 by $1.98. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 15.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company news, insider Ryan D. Campbell sold 6,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.19, for a total value of $2,302,820.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,022,219.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DE. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $492.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $458.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $398.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $447.93.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes 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 mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, 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.