Deere & Company $DE Shares Acquired by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 445,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,595 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $206,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, United Community Bank increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 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 sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.70.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE DE opened at $577.42 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $564.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $404.42 and a twelve month high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

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.