Deere & Company $DE Shares Purchased by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,405 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $81,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 85,351 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% in the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $4,550,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $629.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $537.84 and a 200-day moving average of $495.51. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $674.19.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on DE. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $637.70.

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.