Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Acquires 150 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up 1.2% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade 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 is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DE. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $487.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.