Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Purchased by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.5 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $477.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $471.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $435.61. The firm has a market cap of $129.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. 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 (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 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.