Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 212.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 372,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,270 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Deere & Company worth $157,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,244,094,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $456.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $468.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.35. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.21.

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.