BLB&B Advisors LLC Increases Position in Deere & Company $DE

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,376,279,000 after acquiring an additional 309,081 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,297,913,000 after purchasing an additional 64,262 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,810,807,000 after purchasing an additional 111,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 10.1% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,580,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,312,020,000 after purchasing an additional 236,406 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $514.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $482.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.87. 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 has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.