Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $17,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 78,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,165,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:DE opened at $430.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $476.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 1.51%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.