2,056 Shares in Deere & Company $DE Purchased by Realta Investment Advisors

Key Points

• Realta Investment Advisors opened a new position in Deere & Company, buying 2,056 shares worth about $957,000 in Q4, and institutional investors now control roughly 68.58% of the stock.
• Multiple major analysts raised price targets (Morgan Stanley to $730, RBC to $736, Wells Fargo to $750), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $650.95.
• Deere beat quarterly estimates with EPS $2.42 vs. $1.90 and revenue $9.61B vs. $7.50B, announced a $1.62 quarterly dividend (1.1% yield), while insiders have trimmed positions (CEO sold 41,472 shares), leaving insider ownership at 0.29%.

Realta Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,056 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,297,913,000 after purchasing an additional 64,262 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,850,687,000 after buying an additional 322,582 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,244,670,000 after buying an additional 141,790 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $829,930,000 after acquiring an additional 323,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 7.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,651,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $755,385,000 after acquiring an additional 115,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $521.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $650.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $575.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $584.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $512.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.

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