Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $23,376,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

DE traded down $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $479.70. The company had a trading volume of 808,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,837. The company's fifty day moving average price is $475.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.25. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.