Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,048 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 35.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,048 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 573.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,597,000 after buying an additional 717,808 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 132.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $366,946,000 after buying an additional 410,636 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 50,691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after acquiring an additional 331,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,376,279,000 after acquiring an additional 309,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $514.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $478.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $481.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

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.