HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 90,490 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 66.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 226,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,490 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $95,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $471.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $431.94. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.