Martin Currie Ltd. Purchases 853 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Martin Currie Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,442 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth about $86,337,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.1 %

DE traded up $5.00 during trading on Monday, reaching $470.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,496,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,401,110. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $440.70. The stock has a market cap of $127.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.