Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,425 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $26,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,089,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,920,548,000 after acquiring an additional 65,006 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,374,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,767,000 after buying an additional 269,571 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,061,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,155,430,000 after purchasing an additional 73,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,539,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $581,052,000 after purchasing an additional 33,946 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,480,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $592,098,000 after buying an additional 149,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE traded up $8.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $395.96. 1,780,264 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,470,164. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $345.55 and a 12 month high of $450.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $389.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $383.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.55 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 17.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company 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.