Voya Investment Management LLC Acquires 253,270 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 212.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 372,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 253,270 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Deere & Company worth $157,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,566,884,000 after buying an additional 157,224 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after buying an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.21.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded down $5.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $458.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 983,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,235. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $467.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $446.44. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 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.