Outfitter Financial LLC Sells 120 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Outfitter Financial LLC cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Deere & Company makes up 1.4% of Outfitter Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $496.28 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $451.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $419.90. The stock has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.