Park National Corp OH Trims Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Park National Corp OH trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,239 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up about 1.5% of Park National Corp OH’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $39,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 97,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,444,000 after buying an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 324.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 230.2% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $584,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $413.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $112.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 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 has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $469.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $427.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $399.34.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $443.94.

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.