Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Boosts Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,974 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,143,000 after buying an additional 85,351 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,550,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE DE opened at $586.12 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $587.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $497.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $158.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.55 earnings per share. As a group, 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 was paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.