American Century Companies Inc. Buys 17,446 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 284,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,446 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $120,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $471.90 on Monday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $436.88. 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 cap of $128.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. 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 1.37%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company 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.