Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ETF Managers Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,579,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, All Season Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. All Season Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 66.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $537.00 to $517.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $512.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $398.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $459.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

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

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded down $12.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $398.64. 1,152,889 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,837. The firm has a market cap of $114.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $417.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $398.87. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $328.62 and a 52 week high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.14 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 33.9 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

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.