Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 9,900 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,900 shares during the period. Deere & Company accounts for about 0.9% of Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.10% of Deere & Company worth $120,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $913,334,000 after purchasing an additional 160,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 107,544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $459.89.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1 %

DE stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $452.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,044,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,699. 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 firm has a market cap of $122.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $470.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $444.28. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. 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.