Barings LLC Cuts Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Barings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,450 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $499.73 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $461.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their target price 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 downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.22.

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.