AGF Management Ltd. Buys New Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,421,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.7 %

DE opened at $475.70 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $463.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $431.66. The firm has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G 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.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.