Candriam S.C.A. Has $8.57 Million Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 62.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,985 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $8,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $499.73 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $461.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $429.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.