Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by RKL Wealth Management LLC

RKL Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $499.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $461.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $429.44. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 $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 payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $457.22.

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.