Carret Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $913,334,000 after buying an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $466.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $465.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.18. 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 company has a market capitalization of $126.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05.

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, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report 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 for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company 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.