Gleason Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Gleason Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 0.2% of Gleason Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $791,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Marion Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 3,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $430.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $428.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $400.45. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $469.39. The firm has a market cap of $117.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.41 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DE. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $443.94.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.