Erste Asset Management GmbH Increases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $246,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $466.64 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $465.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $432.18. The company has a market cap of $126.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.