KBC Group NV Sells 5,525 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

KBC Group NV cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,525 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $40,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third 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 shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 53,338.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,602,000 after acquiring an additional 852,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 46,892.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $322,218,000 after acquiring an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $444.50.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DE traded down $3.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $480.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,642,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,406. The company has a market cap of $130.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $440.14 and a 200 day moving average of $407.30.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Deere & Company 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.