Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Position Cut by Aspen Investment Management Inc

Aspen Investment Management Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other 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 owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $496.28 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $451.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.