Mathes Company Inc. Has $4.28 Million Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mathes Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Deere & Company accounts for approximately 1.6% of Mathes Company Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mathes Company Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,886,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 44,897 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,023,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 929,815 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $393,963,000 after purchasing an additional 7,807 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE DE traded down $12.99 on Thursday, hitting $496.28. 1,514,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,719. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $449.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.37.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.3 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Deere & Company

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.