Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 21,379 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 18.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,379 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $53,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.0%

Deere & Company stock opened at $628.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $585.05 and its 200 day moving average is $576.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on DE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Deere & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.98.

Deere & 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.