Trust Investment Advisors Buys Shares of 3,451 Deere & Company $DE

Trust Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, United Community Bank raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 67.3% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $574.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $504.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $155.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $404.42 and a 12 month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.70.

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.