Virtu Financial LLC Invests $3.99 Million in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $471.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $473.25 and its 200-day moving average is $436.21. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $128.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.