Natixis Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,210,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.6% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 13.9% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,252,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Deere & Company by 162.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,999,000 after buying an additional 13,334 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,146,000 after buying an additional 13,934 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of DE traded up $7.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $463.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 828,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,870. The company has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $468.39 and a 200 day moving average of $445.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS 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, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 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.