E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 630 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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 downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $457.22.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE DE traded up $16.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $499.73. 2,615,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,513,524. The firm has a market cap of $135.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $461.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week 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, 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%. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.