Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $8.66 Million Position in Deere & Company $DE

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,655,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth about $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 573.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,910,000 after acquiring an additional 331,525 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $11,376,279,000 after purchasing an additional 309,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,386,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $704,930,000 after purchasing an additional 292,932 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:DE opened at $629.32 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $537.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.59. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders 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 1.0%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Evercore reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.70.

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.