Lincoln National Corp Sells 4,197 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Lincoln National Corp reduced its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,197 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Savings Bank increased its position in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in 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 boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $3.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $405.57. 941,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,461,198. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.55 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $384.02. The company has a market capitalization of $112.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.