Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. cut its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 20.5% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $2,783,000. Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 99.8% during the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $1,052,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at $24,984,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $408.64 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.38. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $420.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Hsbc Global Res cut Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.69.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.