Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 1,145 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 250.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price target for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.70.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $465.73 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $403.01 and a twelve month high of $533.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $473.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $483.81. The firm has a market cap of $125.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

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.