Simmons Bank Sells 399 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 53,338.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,602,000 after buying an additional 852,885 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $148,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $487.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $132.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $453.87 and its 200 day moving average is $423.91.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & 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.