Hixon Zuercher LLC Sells 1,140 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Hixon Zuercher LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,431,000 after purchasing an additional 158,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $722,733,000 after purchasing an additional 85,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $479.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $443.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $408.60. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84. The stock has a market cap of $130.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $444.50.

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.