Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 278.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 487,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 358,687 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.18% of Deere & Company worth $223,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Deere & Company by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,989,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 691.4% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,046,000 after buying an additional 8,670 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.8%

DE opened at $600.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $162.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.43. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

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.