Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Reduces Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 65,006 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,374,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,767,000 after buying an additional 269,571 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,326,177,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,061,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,155,430,000 after buying an additional 73,601 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $397.27 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $384.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $382.39. The company has a market cap of $110.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Melius cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company 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.