Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 3.2% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DE. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 665.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,152,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $457.22.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE traded up $16.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $499.73. 2,615,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,513,524. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $461.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $429.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors 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 yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.