D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 3,458 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,458 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $36,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 573.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Deere & Company by 132.0% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $366,946,000 after acquiring an additional 410,636 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 733,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,442,000 after purchasing an additional 361,526 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after purchasing an additional 331,525 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $466.79 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $473.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.84. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $403.01 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

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.