Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Decreases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for approximately 2.3% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $21,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,920,000 after buying an additional 529,833 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $148,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:DE opened at $465.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $126.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.33. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.