Markel Group Inc. Has $446.40 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 877,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up approximately 3.8% of Markel Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $446,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 4.2% in the second quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 6,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.3% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 34,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,523,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pavion Blue Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.72.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $468.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $469.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $489.60. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $387.03 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The stock has a market cap of $126.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.