Summit Financial LLC Grows Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 59.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,376,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,337,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted 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, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DE stock opened at $470.31 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $440.70. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $127.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.38%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.