Holderness Investments Co. Decreases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Holderness Investments Co. cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $2,168,737,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 worth $1,895,518,000 after acquiring an additional 988,380 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $913,334,000 after acquiring an additional 160,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 worth $874,473,000 after acquiring an additional 107,544 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $477.03 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $129.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $471.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.61.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders 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 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.