Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.4% 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 42,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,440 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $17,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 value 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. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $14.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $465.27. 1,183,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,400,727. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.76. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio 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.