Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Acquires 4,097 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,304 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,097 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up approximately 2.3% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Deere & Company worth $117,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,205 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 774.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,496,000 after acquiring an additional 13,578 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 10,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,507,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $479.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 808,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,819. The stock has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $474.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.56. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.