Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 4,092 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,092 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $23,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at $41,000. United Community Bank raised 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Evercore reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.70.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $600.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $162.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $554.55 and a 200-day moving average of $500.43. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for 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%. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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