Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $779,000 Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after buying an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,832,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 105,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $480.25 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $130.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $456.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.63.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio 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.