Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $19.57 Million Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $19,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Deere & Company by 30.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,143,000 after purchasing an additional 85,351 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,550,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $613.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $166.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.02. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $614.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $502.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $486.03.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’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 fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the sale, the insider 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,578 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,682. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.