Korea Investment CORP Sells 7,151 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 194,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,151 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $82,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 24.8% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 15,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,434,000 after buying an additional 3,060 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 88,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $483.48 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $476.30 and its 200 day moving average is $438.57.

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, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.