Natural Investments LLC Invests $648,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $475.70 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $463.53 and a 200-day moving average of $431.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 1.36%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DE shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.