Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $802,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 9.7% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Shelter Ins Retirement Plan acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $7,590,000. First Merchants Corp boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 4,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Stockton boosted its position in Deere & Company by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.2 %

DE traded up $4.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $381.18. 1,197,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,540,044. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.93. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $423.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $379.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $402.00 to $389.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $415.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.