Rajesh Kalathur Sells 24,580 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stock

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of DE opened at $496.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $135.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $515.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $451.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $419.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

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, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DE. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.65.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 196.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank increased its stake in Deere & Company by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 357.8% during the third quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.