ARK Investment Management LLC Has $150.53 Million Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,029 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Deere & Company worth $150,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 573.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $428,597,000 after buying an additional 717,808 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $168,910,000 after buying an additional 331,525 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $11,376,279,000 after buying an additional 309,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Deere & Company by 26.8% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,386,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $704,930,000 after acquiring an additional 292,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.9%

DE stock opened at $613.93 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $547.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $498.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.96.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $647.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.