ProShare Advisors LLC Has $15.77 Million Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,331 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:DE opened at $531.79 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $468.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.33.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus set a $510.00 price target on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $495.00.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company 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.