Knuff & Co LLC Lowers Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Knuff & Co LLC lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises about 1.3% of Knuff & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $5.00 on Friday, reaching $400.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,626,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,641. The firm has a market cap of $111.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $391.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $383.91. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.55 and a 1 year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Ten investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

About Deere & Company

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.