Sapient Capital LLC Raises Stake in Deere & Company $DE

Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Deere & Company by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 57 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 406.7% in the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 76 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $468.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.92. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $403.01 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 35.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,496.24. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.