Fjell Capital LLC Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,074,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.6 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $487.52 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.91. The company has a market cap of $132.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DE. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.65.

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.