United Bank Boosts Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

United Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $913,334,000 after acquiring an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $874,473,000 after purchasing an additional 107,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:DE opened at $465.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, 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 current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $477.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.76.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.