Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 474 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $499.73 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The company has a market cap of $135.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $461.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.83.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.