Markel Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 874,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,850 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company comprises 3.3% of Markel Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.32% of Deere & Company worth $370,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $913,334,000 after buying an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $3.14 on Wednesday, reaching $472.36. 1,135,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,518,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $463.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $431.66. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.