American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 17,446 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,621 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 17,446 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.10% of Deere & Company worth $120,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $3.93 on Thursday, reaching $479.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,193,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,858. 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 $130.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day moving average is $476.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

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.