Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $20.36 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $20,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $738,000. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Mann Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $607,000. Finally, Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 19.1% in the third quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 191,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,621,000 after acquiring an additional 30,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.9%

DE opened at $590.15 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $549.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore restated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.20.

Deere & 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.