MML Investors Services LLC Has $23.72 Million Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 813 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $23,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 67,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,518,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,210,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,531 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,546,000 after acquiring an additional 7,578 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 22,008 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 3,984 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.21.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded down $5.59 on Friday, hitting $458.92. 983,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,235. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $467.21 and a 200-day moving average of $446.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

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.