The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $185.14 Million Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Deere & Company by 30.6% in Q2 to 364,103 shares, now worth about $185.14 million.
• Several large institutions also made big moves — Norges Bank opened a new position (~$1.578 billion) and firms like Marshall Wace, TD Asset Management and Voya substantially increased holdings, leaving 68.58% of DE owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $523.70 price target; meanwhile CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares (~$5.55M) and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 (annualized $6.48, ~1.4% yield).

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 30.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 364,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,351 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.13% of Deere & Company worth $185,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 573.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 132.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $366,946,000 after acquiring an additional 410,636 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 97.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 733,871 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $344,442,000 after acquiring an additional 361,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $168,910,000 after purchasing an additional 331,525 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $512.00 to $531.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $523.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $475.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $468.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.87. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $403.01 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. Deere & Company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 35.01%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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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