Blue Capital Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,132,000. Deere & Company makes up approximately 7.9% of Blue Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 573.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 132.0% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $366,946,000 after acquiring an additional 410,636 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 733,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $344,442,000 after acquiring an additional 361,526 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 50,691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,910,000 after purchasing an additional 331,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.0%

DE opened at $485.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $469.02 and a 200-day moving average of $487.70. The company has a market capitalization of $131.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $403.01 and a fifty-two week 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 released its quarterly 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). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders 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 currently 35.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $523.70.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.