Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 145 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $216,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 35.0% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,939,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 4.0 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $456.57 on Monday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $469.39. The stock has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $431.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.57 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $442.83.

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.