Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 59 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $369,019,000 after acquiring an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $471.90 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $473.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $436.21. 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 (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

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.