Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 496 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted 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. 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $475.70 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $463.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.66. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (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, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

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.