Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stake Lowered by Keynote Financial Services LLC

Keynote Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings 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 worth $36,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE DE opened at $480.25 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company has a market capitalization of $130.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $456.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.