Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 25,455 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,455 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Deere & Company worth $96,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $393.33. The stock had a trading volume of 998,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,125. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $387.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $383.56.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.37 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

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.