Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Deere & Company $DE

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,655,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 24.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 17.7% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $637.70.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $629.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $170.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.02. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $404.42 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $537.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.59.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.