Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 114 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Centennial Bank AR increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% during the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $478.50 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $441.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.11. The stock has a market cap of $130.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $485.84.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $444.50.

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.