Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Acquires Shares of 751 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $481.21 on Wednesday. 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 $130.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $469.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.01. 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 (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

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.