Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Trims Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,295 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $17,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 234,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,785,000 after acquiring an additional 10,899 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $22,367,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $77,491,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $444.50.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $479.91 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $485.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $443.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $130.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Deere & 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.