Private Trust Co. NA Buys 163 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $480.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $130.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $456.95 and its 200 day moving average is $425.63.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.