Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Acquires 5,751 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 89.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 3.0% during the second quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $468.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $473.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $403.01 and a 52-week high of $533.78.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DE. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.70.

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.