Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $496.28 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.90. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wallington Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 26,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,081,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Deere & Company by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,218,000 after purchasing an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 6.8% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,308,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

About Deere & Company

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.