Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,244,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $296,232,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 52,200.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $148,359,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $465.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $477.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $439.76. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $126.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.