Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 4,843 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,843 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $47,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.0% in the second quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Deere & Company by 3.0% in the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.3%

DE stock opened at $593.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.02. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $593.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $500.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its 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). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.20.

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.