Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 319,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42,194 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $127,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. River Street Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,710,000. Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,532,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,478,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded down $15.57 on Friday, reaching $397.27. 1,886,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,228. The stock has a market cap of $110.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $345.55 and a twelve month high of $450.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $384.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $382.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.41 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

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.