With the third-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the fourth quarter. One of these stocks was Deere & Company (NYSE:DE).

Is DE a good stock to buy now? Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was in 42 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of September. The all time high for this statistic is 51. Our calculations also showed that DE isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q3 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks).

Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are tons of gauges market participants can use to value stocks. A couple of the best gauges are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see the details here).

Tom Gayner of Markel Gayner Asset Management

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, the House passed a landmark bill decriminalizing marijuana. So, we are checking out this under the radar cannabis stock right now. We go through lists like the 15 best blue chip stocks to buy to pick the best large-cap stocks to buy. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our website. Keeping this in mind we're going to take a peek at the latest hedge fund action surrounding Deere & Company (NYSE:DE).

Do Hedge Funds Think DE Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

Heading into the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 42 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 31% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 41 hedge funds with a bullish position in DE a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of key hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

Among these funds, Greenhaven Associates held the most valuable stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), which was worth $447.2 million at the end of the third quarter. On the second spot was Markel Gayner Asset Management which amassed $167.5 million worth of shares. Impax Asset Management, Citadel Investment Group, and Diamond Hill Capital were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Greenhaven Associates allocated the biggest weight to Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), around 9.83% of its 13F portfolio. Iszo Capital is also relatively very bullish on the stock, designating 5.75 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to DE.