Tradewinds LLC. Acquires New Shares in Deere & Company $DE

Tradewinds LLC. bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 15,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,187,000. Deere & Company accounts for approximately 1.8% of Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,011,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 49.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $514.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $139.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $478.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.49.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

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.