Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $317,000 Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $479.70 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $475.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $438.25. The company has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend 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.