Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Lowers Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 56,695 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $20,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 28,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 13,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,199,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 16,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,033,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $405.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $376.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $382.66. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $417.46.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.70%.

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.