Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 3,248 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 94,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $39,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $496.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $451.08 and its 200 day moving average is $419.90. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.