NBT Bank N A NY Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

NBT Bank N A NY lessened its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 679 shares during the period. Deere & Company comprises approximately 1.0% of NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $14,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.22.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $499.73 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $461.21 and its 200-day moving average is $430.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a market cap of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.