Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,787 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $59,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,399,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 61,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,479,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $577.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $564.21 and a 200 day moving average of $503.15.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.53%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $475.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.70.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.