Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 468,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40,196 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $214,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,376,279,000 after acquiring an additional 309,081 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,297,913,000 after acquiring an additional 64,262 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,850,687,000 after purchasing an additional 322,582 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,244,670,000 after purchasing an additional 141,790 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore restated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.70.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.1%

DE opened at $587.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $158.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $562.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $502.36.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.