Deere & Company $DE Stock Position Reduced by TrueWealth Advisors LLC

TrueWealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the period. TrueWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ehrlich Financial Group lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Ehrlich Financial Group now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co increased its stake in Deere & Company by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 4,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 31,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,576,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $558.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $572.75 and a 200-day moving average of $506.05. The company has a market cap of $150.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.96. 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 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 1.2%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DE. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

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.