Selective Wealth Management Inc. Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Selective Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 41,880.9% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,703,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 5,689,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,807,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,979,416,000 after buying an additional 14,732 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,576,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,962,085,000 after buying an additional 554,133 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 9.5% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,393,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,871,000 after buying an additional 381,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,557,000 after buying an additional 3,216,801 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $412.11 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $417.81 and a 200 day moving average of $398.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $118.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.07. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $328.62 and a 52 week high of $450.00.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $537.00 to $517.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $484.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 20th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $459.90.

Deere & 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.