Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Position Boosted by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Deere & Company by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DE. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $479.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.32.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.