Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,029 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,029 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,372,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,376,279,000 after purchasing an additional 309,081 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,810,807,000 after buying an additional 111,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,580,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,312,020,000 after buying an additional 236,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $602.54 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $404.42 and a twelve month high of $626.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $163.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $510.29 and its 200-day moving average is $487.67.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were 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 was Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DE. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.20.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.