Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 11,098 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,098 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 573.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 132.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $366,946,000 after acquiring an additional 410,636 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after purchasing an additional 331,525 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,376,279,000 after purchasing an additional 309,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $580.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price objective on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Up 4.3%

Deere & Company stock opened at $568.20 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $571.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $490.96 and its 200 day moving average is $483.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.01%.

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.