Amundi Sells 269,299 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Amundi decreased its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,165,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 269,299 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.43% of Deere & Company worth $478,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $499.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $461.21 and its 200-day moving average is $429.83. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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, UBS Group upped their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.22.

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.