Kozak & Associates Inc. Acquires 511 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises approximately 0.6% of Kozak & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Kozak & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1,475.0% during the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 63 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.0% during the first quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 73 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, 25 LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $458.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $493.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $458.53.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DE traded up $6.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $408.40. 229,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,666. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Deere & Company has a one year low of $328.62 and a one year high of $450.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $399.11.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.96%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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

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.