Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A

OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $479.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $470.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.32.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

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.