Global Retirement Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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 shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $489.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $133.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $452.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $420.91.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 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.