Founders Financial Alliance LLC Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:DE opened at $475.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $129.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $463.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $431.66. 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 announced 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.