14,014 Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Purchased by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 14,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,938,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $509.54 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $138.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $449.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.37. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (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 research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

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.