First Business Financial Services Inc. Purchases Shares of 10,040 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,254,000. Deere & Company comprises about 0.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 valued at $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,359,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $468.08 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $458.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.17. The firm has a market cap of $127.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $457.22.

Deere & Company 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.