QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,310 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,583,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,514,053,000 after purchasing an additional 198,332 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,850,687,000 after purchasing an additional 322,582 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,244,670,000 after purchasing an additional 141,790 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1,199.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,864,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $868,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,930,000 after purchasing an additional 323,512 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $592.84 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $587.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $531.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19. The company has a market cap of $160.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DE. DA Davidson raised their price target on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.