Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE – Get Rating) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,339 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 411.8% during the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 64.3% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, My Personal CFO LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $522.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Deere & Company from $463.00 to $513.00 in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $478.00 to $484.00 in a research note on Monday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $460.81.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $394.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $416.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $403.61. The company has a market cap of $116.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $283.81 and a 12 month high of $448.40.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.53 by $1.02. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 41.17% and a net margin of 14.71%. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.92 EPS. Deere & Company's revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 30.58 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This is an increase from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.80%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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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.

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