Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up about 5.5% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Centennial Bank AR increased its stake in Deere & Company by 420.0% during the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. HSBC cut shares of Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $443.28.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $0.96 on Friday, hitting $440.44. 900,756 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,439,312. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $469.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $420.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $392.50.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.26 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.97%.

About Deere & Company

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.