Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Weil Company Inc.

Weil Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 69.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,890 shares during the period. Weil Company Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $574,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $874,473,000 after acquiring an additional 107,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DE. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $487.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $453.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.91. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Deere & Company 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.