New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Deere & Company $DE

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 68.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,909 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its stake in Deere & Company by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $631.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $541.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $496.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $637.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.