ING Groep NV Purchases 21,930 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2,402.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,930 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,376,279,000 after buying an additional 309,081 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,297,913,000 after acquiring an additional 64,262 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,810,807,000 after acquiring an additional 111,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth about $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 10.1% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,580,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,312,020,000 after acquiring an additional 236,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE DE opened at $613.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $502.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $166.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.02. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $614.34.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued 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 payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore restated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note 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, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.