HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 443 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $465.27 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.12.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.