Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42,577 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $108,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DE. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $759.00 to $812.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $680.00 price objective (down from $715.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.98.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $640.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $587.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $579.01. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $433.00 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The firm has a market cap of $172.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

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.