Romano Brothers AND Company Trims Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Romano Brothers AND Company lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 41,880.9% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,703,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after buying an additional 5,689,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,807,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,979,416,000 after buying an additional 14,732 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,576,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,962,085,000 after buying an additional 554,133 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,393,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,871,000 after buying an additional 381,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,380,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total value of $22,035,331.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,398,598.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at $16,444,209.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,398,598.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of DE stock traded down $10.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $400.14. 925,453 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,646. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a one year low of $328.62 and a one year high of $450.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $417.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 33.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $537.00 to $517.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $459.90.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes 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 mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, 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.