Farringdon Capital Ltd. Invests $355,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 837 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.21.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of DE stock traded up $7.43 on Thursday, hitting $463.87. The stock had a trading volume of 237,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,110. The business has a 50 day moving average of $468.39 and a 200 day moving average of $445.35. The stock has a market cap of $125.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. 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 has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.