Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 203 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. DRW Securities LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 388.3% in the third quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 376,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $157,414,000 after purchasing an additional 6,915 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 15,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $479.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $475.21 and a 200-day moving average of $438.25. The firm 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.