Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 4,256 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,256 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% during 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 period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $481.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $130.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $469.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.01.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on DE. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.