Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 2,798 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 115.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 316,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $147,303,000 after acquiring an additional 5,754 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,734,000. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc raised its stake in Deere & Company by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 4,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% 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 Price Performance

DE stock opened at $574.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $585.89 and a 200-day moving average of $513.98. 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 has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $674.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released 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 net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Argus boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.95.

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.