Trek Financial LLC Increases Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Trek Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after purchasing an additional 97,203 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,334,000 after buying an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $430.25 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $116.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $476.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $442.38. 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 announced its 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.