Marotta Asset Management Invests $336,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Marotta Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 4,147 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Deere & Company by 6.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 9.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 8.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 143,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,061,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total transaction of $2,104,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total transaction of $2,104,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total value of $22,035,331.34. Following the sale, 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. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE traded up $6.52 on Thursday, reaching $408.75. The stock had a trading volume of 169,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $328.62 and a 12-month high of $450.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $417.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $399.11. The stock has a market cap of $117.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.22 by $1.98. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 33.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $492.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $458.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $458.53.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.