Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Physicians Financial Services Inc.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. cut its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $857,000. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Deere & Company by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 94,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,878,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $496.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. 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 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.