Deere & Company $DE Stock Position Lowered by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,865 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $67,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Deere & Company by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,143,000 after buying an additional 85,351 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 24,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,204,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 1.0% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $3,615,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:DE opened at $514.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $482.61 and its 200-day moving average is $481.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The firm has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 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 restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

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.