Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,824,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55,109 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $834,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 406.7% during the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 76 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $524.44 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $404.42 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $142.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.00. 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 announced its 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 net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research raised Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.