Strategic Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted 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 worth $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on DE. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $479.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.32.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

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.