Whitener Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake 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 worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 4,147 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,781,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 8.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,584 shares in the last quarter. 66.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE traded down $11.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $399.66. 1,035,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $115.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $328.62 and a 52-week high of $450.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $417.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.87.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.14 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 16.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $512.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $493.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $459.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,398,598.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at $45,398,598.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, 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.

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.