Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $141.61 Million Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 45.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 334,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,628 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.12% of Deere & Company worth $141,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 4,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 373,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,280,000 after acquiring an additional 27,643 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 619,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,458,000 after purchasing an additional 173,170 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 2,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $465.27 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company has a market cap of $126.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $477.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.12. 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 (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

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.