Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $443.00 price target (up previously from $439.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Fourteen equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.88.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of DE opened at $409.53 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $417.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $375.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $382.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The business’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.07 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.70%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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

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.