Procyon Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 69.2% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $41,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE DE opened at $558.81 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $572.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.31. The stock has a market cap of $150.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the 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 represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This trade 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.70.

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.