Deere & Company $DE Position Boosted by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,532 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $46,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.70.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $600.49 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $554.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $500.43. The firm has a market cap of $162.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

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.