Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New $15.99 Million Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,985,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $489.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $452.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $421.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $133.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% 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.