Madison Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 118,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,128,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th 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 during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE DE opened at $471.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $464.49 and a 200 day moving average of $431.94. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

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.