Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Princeton Global Asset Management LLC

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 48.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,386,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,297,913,000 after buying an additional 64,262 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,233,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,850,687,000 after acquiring an additional 322,582 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,722,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,244,670,000 after acquiring an additional 141,790 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,815,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $829,930,000 after acquiring an additional 323,512 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,651,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $755,385,000 after acquiring an additional 115,975 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.95.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of DE opened at $575.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $155.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $584.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $512.97. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $404.42 and a fifty-two week high of $674.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at $59,160,775.30. This represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.