Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Washington Trust Bank reduced its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 5.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $471.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $436.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently 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.