Deere & Company $DE Stake Boosted by New Republic Capital LLC

New Republic Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 132.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,941 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises 3.2% of New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $10,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,143,000 after buying an additional 85,351 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% in the second 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 during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at about $4,550,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on DE shares. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, November 28th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.20.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $490.82 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $404.42 and a one year high of $533.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $475.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $481.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $132.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 value 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 approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.