Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $484.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $452.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $422.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

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.