Insider Selling: Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) CEO Sells 11,106 Shares of Stock

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) CEO John May II sold 11,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total transaction of $5,553,888.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,496.24. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $26.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $471.79. 4,190,823 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,370,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $467.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $491.09. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $403.01 and a 52 week high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.55 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DE. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 24,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,204,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 2.1% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,871,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in Deere & Company by 12.7% during the first quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,386,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,588,000. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,496,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $440.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $602.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.85.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.