Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 409,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,074 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Deere & Company worth $172,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings 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 period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $479.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $477.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.