Vista Investment Partners II LLC Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.22.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $499.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $461.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $430.21. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company’s 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.