Whittier Trust Co. Sells 53 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $9,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 774.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,496,000 after buying an additional 13,578 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 10,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,507,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.5 %

DE opened at $477.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $471.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.61. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $129.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company 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.