Matthew 25 Management Corp Reduces Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Matthew 25 Management Corp reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises 0.4% of Matthew 25 Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Matthew 25 Management Corp's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 725.0% during the 1st quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $414.11.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DE traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $381.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,670,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $105.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $369.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $380.51. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $417.46.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.70%.

Deere & Company Profile

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.