Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Position Cut by Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lessened its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,669 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $29,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on DE shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $457.22.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE DE traded up $16.89 on Friday, hitting $499.73. 2,615,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,513,524. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $461.21 and a 200 day moving average of $429.83. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. The company has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Deere & 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.