Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,315 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE DE opened at $481.21 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $469.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $435.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its 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, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.