Norges Bank Acquires New Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,103,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,243,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.15% of Deere & Company as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 9.6% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,005,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 9.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Zacks Research lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $566.00 to $512.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.85.

Deere & Company Trading Down 5.7%

DE opened at $469.95 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $403.01 and a 52 week high of $533.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $467.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $490.79. The firm has a market cap of $127.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total transaction of $5,553,888.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,496.24. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.