South Plains Financial Inc. Invests $844,000 in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,991 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in 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 last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after purchasing an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,244,094,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $460.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.7 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $463.65 on Thursday. 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 $125.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $464.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.28. 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 (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 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.

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