Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Strategic Financial Services Inc.

Strategic Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position 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 worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position 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 worth $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Deere & Company by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $479.73 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $470.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $435.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:DE) last announced 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DE. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & 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.