Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Bought by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 675.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 27,530 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after buying an additional 529,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $499.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $461.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $429.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DE. Citigroup increased their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.22.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other 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 owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.