Deere & Company $DE Position Lowered by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,285 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $16,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.8%

DE stock opened at $578.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $156.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $577.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $508.25. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

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.