Czech National Bank Acquires 2,271 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $29,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 57 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $480.70 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $470.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $403.01 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DE. Citigroup cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $523.70.

About Deere & Company

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.