Deere & Company $DE Stock Position Lifted by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $26,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 309,081 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,876,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,227,258,000 after purchasing an additional 286,253 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,810,807,000 after purchasing an additional 111,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,580,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,312,020,000 after purchasing an additional 236,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $440.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $487.00 to $521.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,496.24. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $475.13 on Friday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $403.01 and a one year high of $533.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $467.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.