Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 97,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.9% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 24,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,114,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. First American Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,312,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Deere & Company by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.69.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.5 %

DE opened at $406.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $399.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.23. The company has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $420.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Deere & Company Profile

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.