6,046 Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Acquired by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,562,000. Deere & Company makes up about 1.0% of GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after purchasing an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,334,000 after buying an additional 160,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of DE opened at $452.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $122.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $444.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut 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 assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $459.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.