Homestead Advisers Corp Sells 4,000 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Homestead Advisers Corp cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 215,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 2.3% of Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $98,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 30.6% during 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 buying an additional 85,351 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,550,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 4.3%

NYSE:DE opened at $568.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $404.42 and a 1-year high of $571.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $490.96 and a 200 day moving average of $483.28. The firm has a market cap of $154.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value 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 approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on DE. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Deere & Company from $609.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

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.