Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Holdings Lifted by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $480.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.15.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.