Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,098 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 573.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $428,597,000 after purchasing an additional 717,808 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Deere & Company by 132.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $366,946,000 after buying an additional 410,636 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after buying an additional 331,525 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,376,279,000 after buying an additional 309,081 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $609.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $568.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $490.96 and a 200 day moving average of $483.28. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $571.56.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS 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 company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.01%.

About Deere & Company

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.