First Trust Advisors LP Sells 27,987 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,987 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $76,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $459.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $441.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $469.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $445.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. 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.