Friday Financial Grows Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Friday Financial raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 200.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the quarter. Friday Financial’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.7%

DE opened at $569.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $506.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $674.19.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 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 currently 36.53%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

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.