Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.70.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:DE opened at $578.42 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $577.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $508.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $404.42 and a 1-year high of $674.19. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Deere & 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.