Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 806 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 171,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 806 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company accounts for about 1.2% of Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $72,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE opened at $496.28 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The company has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $451.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DE. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

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.