Blue Capital Inc. Acquires New Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,276,000. Deere & Company makes up approximately 6.5% of Blue Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth 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 approximately $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $546.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.21.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $18.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $490.50. 1,568,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,318. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $464.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.72%.

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.