Argent Advisors Inc. Has $347,000 Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Argent Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Citigroup boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $482.59 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $467.88 and a 200-day moving average of $434.34. The company has a market capitalization of $130.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.34%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.