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

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 118,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,128,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $471.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $515.05. The firm has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $464.49 and its 200 day moving average is $431.94.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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 $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

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.