Ieq Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 60.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,810 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.2 %

DE opened at $489.98 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $452.07 and its 200-day moving average is $421.97. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released 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%. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

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.