First Trust Advisors LP Has $65.17 Million Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 20.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,373 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.05% of Deere & Company worth $65,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 30.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,143,000 after purchasing an additional 85,351 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Deere & Company by 84.9% in the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $3,615,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $4,550,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 27,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,606,000 after purchasing an additional 10,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:DE opened at $592.69 on Wednesday. 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 has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $674.19. The company has a market cap of $160.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $557.00 and a 200-day moving average of $501.12.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the firm’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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.