Cim Investment Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Cim Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,193 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forefront Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $574.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $404.42 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $568.12 and its 200 day moving average is $504.39.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.