Connable Office Inc. Grows Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Connable Office Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $480.25 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $456.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.63. The company has a market capitalization of $130.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.