Prudential Financial Inc. Has $62.01 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30,112 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.05% of Deere & Company worth $62,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $480.44 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $474.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.56. The firm has a market cap of $130.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.