Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DE. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE traded down $12.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $496.28. 1,514,537 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,719. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $451.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $419.90.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after buying an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,566,884,000 after purchasing an additional 157,224 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $2,247,216,000 after purchasing an additional 97,203 shares during the period. 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.