Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 3,581 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,908 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $11,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,244,094,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after buying an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $296,232,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 52,200.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 530,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,920,000 after acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $3.09 on Wednesday, reaching $457.55. 413,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,435. The firm has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $447.16. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, 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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Baird R W lowered Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.21.

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.