Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $2.27 Million Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 79.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,254 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% in the second 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,297,913,000 after buying an additional 64,262 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,810,807,000 after buying an additional 111,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,578,243,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,580,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,312,020,000 after acquiring an additional 236,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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 shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DE. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $512.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $533.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $476.68 and a 200-day moving average of $481.67.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Deere & 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.