Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) CEO John May II Sells 11,106 Shares

Key Points

• CEO John May II sold 11,106 shares on Nov. 25 at an average price of $500.08, generating about $5.55 million and cutting his stake by 8.99% to 112,453 shares, per an SEC Form 4 filing.
• Deere reported a slight EPS miss of $3.93 vs. $3.96 expected, but posted a material revenue beat of $12.39 billion (vs. $9.77 billion), with revenue up 14.1% year‑over‑year.
• Shares fell to $471.79 on heavy volume (4.19M vs. 1.37M average), while analysts maintain a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $519.85 despite recent target cuts.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) CEO John May II sold 11,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 112,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $26.34 on Wednesday, hitting $471.79. 4,190,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,438. The company has a 50 day moving average of $467.28 and a 200 day moving average of $491.09. The stock has a market cap of $127.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $403.01 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.The business had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 23.2% in the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.6% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,005,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth $11,104,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $440.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $565.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $566.00 to $512.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.85.

About Deere & Company

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.

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