DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $46,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in 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, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Deere & Company by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $479.69 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market cap of $130.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $477.11 and a 200-day moving average of $438.85.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 (DPR) is 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.