BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 7,578 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,531 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,578 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $9,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.21.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE traded up $7.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $463.84. 828,394 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,132. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $445.35. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.