StockNews.com Downgrades Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on DE. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $546.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE DE traded down $5.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $484.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,226,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $452.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $421.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued 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 was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,401,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.