Napatree Capital LLC Makes New $299,000 Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Napatree Capital LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $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 during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,232,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $471.90 on Friday. The firm 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $473.25 and its 200-day moving average is $436.57.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company 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.