RiverFront Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $465.27 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $477.28 and a 200-day moving average of $439.76. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $126.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on DE. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

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.