Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 2,619 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,619 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% during 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 buying an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 53,338.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,602,000 after buying an additional 852,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $322,218,000 after buying an additional 770,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $17.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $456.57. 2,315,484 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,286. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $431.48 and a 200-day moving average of $402.25. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $469.39. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.57 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Eleven investment 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, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $442.83.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.