Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $453.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $442.69. The stock has a market cap of $123.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.