Independence Bank of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Independence Bank of Kentucky reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the first quarter valued at about $2,783,000. Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,074,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.69.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $411.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $420.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $387.01 and its 200-day moving average is $385.53.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.20 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.