Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Washington Trust Bank cut its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE DE opened at $471.90 on Friday. 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 cap of $128.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $473.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $436.21. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & 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.