Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Position Lowered by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,440 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $17,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE opened at $479.70 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $475.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:DE) last announced its 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.