Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Trims Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $483.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $476.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $438.57.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.