Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Insider Rajesh Kalathur Sells 24,580 Shares

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $509.54 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $449.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $419.37. The company has a market capitalization of $138.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DE. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $206,000. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 196.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank raised its stake in Deere & Company by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 357.8% in the third quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eleven investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.65.

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.