Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 864 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for 3.2% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $6,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DE. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.22.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:DE opened at $468.08 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $458.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $127.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.