GWN Securities Inc. Takes $455,000 Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,920,000 after buying an additional 529,833 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:DE opened at $478.67 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $129.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $466.59 and its 200 day moving average is $433.63. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 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.