Avanza Fonder AB Buys 1,161 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,297,913,000 after purchasing an additional 64,262 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,850,687,000 after buying an additional 322,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,578,243,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,244,670,000 after buying an additional 141,790 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,930,000 after buying an additional 323,512 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was 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 directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $569.42 on Tuesday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $574.33 and a 200-day moving average of $506.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19. The stock has a market cap of $153.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.53%.

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.