Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Gap Down to $410.84

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $410.84, but opened at $402.59. Deere & Company shares last traded at $402.01, with a volume of 267,885 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $510.00 to $490.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $492.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $459.90.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $115.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $417.81 and its 200 day moving average is $398.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 16.36%. The business had revenue of $14.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 33.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total value of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,398,598.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total transaction of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total value of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,398,598.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Everett Harris & Co. CA increased its position in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 122.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 143,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,061,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584 shares during the period. 66.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.