Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Acquires Shares of 271 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 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 the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $471.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $128.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $473.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.21. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DE. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.