Connable Office Inc. Boosts Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Connable Office Inc. raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $148,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $480.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $456.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.63. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG 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 (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

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.