Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $17.71 Million Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $17,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $489.98 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $133.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $452.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $421.43.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DE. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Deere & Company

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.