Delta Financial Group Inc. Invests $301,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $489.98 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $452.07 and a 200 day moving average of $421.97. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. 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 (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly 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 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

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.