J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 28,765 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,765 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $45,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE traded down $5.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $458.92. 983,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,118. The company has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $468.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

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, 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.21.

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.