Millstone Evans Group LLC Purchases Shares of 739 Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $471.90 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $128.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $473.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DE shares. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

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.