Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes 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 bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in 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 during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $479.70 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $475.21 and its 200 day moving average is $438.25. 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 has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their price target 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 Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

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.