CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys Shares of 1,397 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $480.44 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $474.26 and its 200 day moving average is $437.56. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company has a market capitalization of $130.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 issued 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 28.72%.

Deere & 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.