Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 136,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,585 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.05% of Deere & Company worth $58,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 3,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in Deere & Company by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 1,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 131.5% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $466.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $445.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.14. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $485.84.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $446.17.

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.