Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 221,646 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Parnassus Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,448,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 221,646 shares during the period. Deere & Company accounts for 3.2% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,461,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $913,334,000 after buying an additional 160,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.0 %

DE stock opened at $466.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $126.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $465.46 and a 200-day moving average of $432.18.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DE. UBS Group increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.