Deere & Company $DE Shares Purchased by Bollard Group LLC

Bollard Group LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,123 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up about 0.7% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $29,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, United Community Bank lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 67.3% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $577.42 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $564.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.08. The firm has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $404.42 and a 12-month high of $674.19. 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 (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $612.00 to $793.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $475.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

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.