Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.22.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $499.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $135.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $461.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $429.44. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.