Delta Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Deere & Company by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 10.2% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,346 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $489.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $133.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $452.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.97.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.