Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Has $70.23 Million Position in Deere & Company $DE

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lowered its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,873 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for 1.5% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $70,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 30.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,143,000 after purchasing an additional 85,351 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 84.9% in 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 period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% in 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. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $3,615,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,578 shares of company stock worth $32,471,682. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock opened at $514.62 on Tuesday. The firm 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $481.47. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $533.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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 firm had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. 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 currently 35.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.