Advantage Trust Co Has $375,000 Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Advantage Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,218,000 after purchasing an additional 770,451 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 16.5% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $484,000. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 28,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,687,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $489.98 on Friday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The firm 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $452.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

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.