Brookstone Capital Management Trims Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Brookstone Capital Management decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,089,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,920,548,000 after acquiring an additional 65,006 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,856,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,967,000 after buying an additional 705,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $1,248,036,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,595,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,167,000 after buying an additional 160,369 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,105,000 after buying an additional 31,074 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $376.70 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $353.15 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $386.34 and its 200 day moving average is $387.01. The company has a market cap of $103.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.70%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares in the company, valued at $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DE. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $456.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $385.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $431.14.

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.