Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Oarsman Capital Inc.

Oarsman Capital Inc. cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on DE shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $430.25 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $476.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $442.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.