First Bank & Trust Raises Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $823,000 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. Ledyard National Bank raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 3.3% in the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $270,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 357.8% in the third quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 153.4% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after buying an additional 9,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in Deere & Company by 293.7% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 4,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE DE opened at $509.54 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $138.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $449.95 and its 200 day moving average is $419.37.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DE. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.