EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.32 Million Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Client Services LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,524 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $460.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 24.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.8%

Deere & Company stock traded up $4.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $499.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,500,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,962. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $466.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $452.10. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $515.05. 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 firm has a market cap of $135.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Deere & 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.