Morton Community Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Morton Community Bank lowered its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises approximately 1.2% of Morton Community Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,477 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 8,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DE. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.22.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE DE opened at $499.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $461.21 and its 200 day moving average is $430.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $135.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.