Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $68,280,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 5,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $471.90 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $473.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $436.88. 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 released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 1.37%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.