JPL Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.50 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,498,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 17,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $603,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 16,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,266,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 13,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,783,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $471.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, 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 current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $464.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly 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, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.62 dividend. 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 is currently 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on DE. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.