Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target 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 equities research 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, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.7 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $475.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $463.53 and a 200 day moving average of $431.66.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.