Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Down 3.0 %

DE stock opened at $465.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.12. 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 $126.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $2,368,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $857,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 50,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,427,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tableaux LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% 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.