Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $470.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $477.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $440.70. The stock has a market cap of $127.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a PEG 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 fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,244,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,792,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.