UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Decreases Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during 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 purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $483.48 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $476.30 and its 200 day moving average is $438.57. The stock has a market cap of $131.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.34%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.