Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 3,600 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $19,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 406.7% in the 2nd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 76 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 28th. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.20.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.4%

DE opened at $613.47 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $404.42 and a twelve month high of $614.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $502.71 and a 200-day moving average of $486.03. The stock has a market cap of $166.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.