Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Mengis Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up about 2.4% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 175,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,086,000 after acquiring an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.2 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $484.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $131.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.92. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

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.