State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Trims Stake in Deere & Company $DE

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,838,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70,343 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises 1.1% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned approximately 1.05% of Deere & Company worth $1,298,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake 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. United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $515.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.70.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Deere & Company stock opened at $631.04 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $404.42 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $541.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $496.45. 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 capitalization of $170.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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 Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company 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.