First Business Financial Services Inc. Invests $4.25 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,254,000. Deere & Company makes up about 0.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $148,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of DE opened at $468.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $458.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.17.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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 fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 1.38%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.22.

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.