Mystic Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $482.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $434.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio 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.