Atala Financial Inc Invests $4.56 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,000. Deere & Company comprises approximately 3.2% of Atala Financial Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,334,000 after purchasing an additional 160,956 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $874,473,000 after purchasing an additional 107,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $466.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $465.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $126.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

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, 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%. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company 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.