Optas LLC Acquires Shares of 490 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Optas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $232,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.8% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $222,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 14.9% in the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,130,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8 %

DE stock opened at $373.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. Deere & Company has a one year low of $353.15 and a one year high of $450.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $385.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $387.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 17.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total value of $5,048,913.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,725,268.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $430.55.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.