Symmetry Investments LP Raises Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Symmetry Investments LP boosted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 535.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,512 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Czech National Bank raised 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 worth $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 78,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,165,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 49,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE DE opened at $454.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $123.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $445.27. 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 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current 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 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.21.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is 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.

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