Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake 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 buying an additional 717,808 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 278.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 487,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,005,000 after buying an additional 358,687 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $829,930,000 after buying an additional 323,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,850,687,000 after acquiring an additional 322,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company 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 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Zacks Research raised Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore restated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8%

Deere & Company stock opened at $578.42 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-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. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $577.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $508.25.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.