Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Lowered to Hold Rating by Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group increased their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.22.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.2 %

DE stock opened at $465.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $126.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $457.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $427.33. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $184,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $149,057,000. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

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.