Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 18,259 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,259 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $430.25 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $116.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $442.38.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.