Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. Buys 30,797 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 19.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,797 shares during the quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. owned 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $87,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $41,000. United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DE. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.20.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.9%

DE opened at $613.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $165.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $547.07 and its 200 day moving average is $498.18. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid 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 is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

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.