QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 12.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 24.0% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $1,288,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.0% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $480.69 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $456.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

About Deere & Company

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.