Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Trims Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 38,108 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $33,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.21.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded down $5.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $458.92. 983,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,535. The stock has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $467.21 and its 200-day moving average is $446.16.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. Research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.