BankPlus Trust Department Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,431,000 after purchasing an additional 158,732 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,733,000 after acquiring an additional 85,401 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.2 %

DE opened at $489.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $452.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.97.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

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.