Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 91,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 531,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. grew its position in Deere & Company by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 1,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 3,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $478.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $466.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $432.84. 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 (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.