BTC Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,840 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

BTC Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,840 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,633,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 3,358,264 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $932,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,972 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,199.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $868,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,239 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,436,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,134,465,000 after acquiring an additional 597,087 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $601.91 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $573.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $555.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.19 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. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.64 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $639.58.

About Deere & Company

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.