ING Groep NV Sells 1,938 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,938 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $13,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $496.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05.

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, 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, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DE. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

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.