Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 2,735 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $20,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. United Community Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were 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 owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $590.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $498.82. The stock has a market cap of $159.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $404.42 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 36.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.20.

Deere & Company 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.