First Horizon Corp Makes New Investment in Deere & Company $DE

First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.8% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 41.1% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $203,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $490.82 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $404.42 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $475.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $481.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last 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. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Zacks Research raised Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.