Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63,201 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $68,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE traded up $4.86 on Friday, reaching $386.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,380,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,582,798. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $345.93 and a 52-week high of $441.46. The company has a market cap of $106.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $426.71.

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.