Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. Deere & Company accounts for about 2.5% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $29,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,334,000 after purchasing an additional 160,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $874,473,000 after purchasing an additional 107,544 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.22.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $468.08 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $458.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $428.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap of $127.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.