Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $52.76 Million Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $52,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in 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 increased its position in Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,232,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $224,920,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $546.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.21.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DE traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,011,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,604. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $128.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $464.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $449.75.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.