Bell Bank Acquires 244 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Bell Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $489.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $452.07 and a 200-day moving average of $420.91. 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 has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.