HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 90,490 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,490 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Deere & Company worth $95,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% in 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 last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE DE opened at $471.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $464.49 and a 200-day moving average of $431.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.