Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,561 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $32,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DE. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. DMKC Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.4% in the third quarter. DMKC Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,044,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.20.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.3%

DE stock opened at $466.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $483.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $403.01 and a 52 week high of $533.78.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,496.24. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.