Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $75.61 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $75,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $592,000. Barnett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 1,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 65,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DE. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $479.70 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one 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. The company has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.25.

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%. Research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

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.