Deere & Company $DE Stake Cut by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 74.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,569 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,143,000 after acquiring an additional 85,351 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% in the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,550,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $629.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $537.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $495.51. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The firm has a market cap of $170.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s 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 owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DE. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.70.

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.