Hill Island Financial LLC Lowers Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Hill Island Financial LLC lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 36.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Hill Island Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 4.5% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in Deere & Company by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $520.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $495.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.56.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.