Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $3.78 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 115.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Deere & Company by 69.2% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $41,000. United Community Bank boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 67.3% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $592.69 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $557.00 and its 200-day moving average is $501.12.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS 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 paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $612.00 to $793.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company 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 note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

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.