Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management trimmed its position in Deere by 8.8%, selling 18,026 shares and ending the quarter with 186,978 shares worth about $85.5 million.
• Deere beat expectations for the quarter with $2.42 EPS versus $1.90 consensus and $9.61 billion in revenue (up 17.5% year-over-year); analysts’ consensus target is $647.20 and the stock has a "Moderate Buy" average rating.
• Insiders sold shares—CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares (~$20.8M) and Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares (~$6.12M)—and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 ($6.48 annualized, ~1.1% yield).

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,978 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,026 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $85,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DE. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Deere & Company by 3.0% during the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.1% during the third quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 24.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 17.7% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 153 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $590.15 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $404.42 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $549.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $498.82. The company has a market capitalization of $159.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $515.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $647.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were 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 directly owned 117,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.

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