Natixis Advisors LLC Has $93.60 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,022 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Deere & Company worth $93,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,964 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of DE opened at $478.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $466.59 and a 200 day moving average of $433.24. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap of $129.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & 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.