Bell Bank Sells 1,531 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Bell Bank lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 51.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,531 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 406.7% in the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 76 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $609.00 to $612.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $466.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 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 has a 12 month low of $403.01 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $473.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.41.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were 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 $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.