Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Reduces Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,719 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for 1.0% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE:DE opened at $499.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 1.30%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on DE shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.22.

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.