Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $11.70 Million Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,832,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 105,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DE shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $480.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $456.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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 forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 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.