Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock Position Reduced by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,205 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors' holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $913,334,000 after acquiring an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 107,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer upped 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. UBS Group dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $457.26.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $3.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $464.25. The stock had a trading volume of 326,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,195. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $443.86. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month 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.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

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.