Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 32 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $400.32. 1,125,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,289,741. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $385.86 and its 200-day moving average is $383.05. Deere & Company has a one year low of $345.55 and a one year high of $450.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $111.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DE. Citigroup lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Melius lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Ten research 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Profile

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.