Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys Shares of 739 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 739 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in 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 bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.9 %

DE traded up $4.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $483.48. 811,162 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,356,136. The company has a market cap of $131.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $475.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's 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.