Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,556,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 613,040 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.57% of Deere & Company worth $659,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

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Deere & Company Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE DE traded up $15.56 on Friday, reaching $459.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,245,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,904. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $470.92 and its 200 day moving average is $443.29. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DE. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $457.26.

Insider Activity

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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.