Summit Securities Group LLC Purchases Shares of 300 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,244,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,232,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,359,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.0 %

DE opened at $465.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 1.39%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. 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. Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Evercore ISI raised 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

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.