US Bancorp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

US Bancorp DE lowered its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,233 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.09% of Deere & Company worth $112,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 573.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,597,000 after buying an additional 717,808 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after buying an additional 331,525 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,376,279,000 after buying an additional 309,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 26.8% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,386,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $704,930,000 after buying an additional 292,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $619.32 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $534.67 and a 200 day moving average of $494.74. The firm has a market cap of $167.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.02. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.