Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 321 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,798,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $492.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $465.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.