ARK Investment Management LLC Acquires 105,029 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 329,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 105,029 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $150,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% during 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. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the second quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 43.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $613.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $165.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $547.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.18. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.