NorthRock Partners LLC Increases Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 141.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $1,244,094,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $296,232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:DE traded up $15.47 on Friday, hitting $531.79. 2,322,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,780. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $468.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.67. 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 market capitalization of $144.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DE. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $504.38.

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.