Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 367,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 37,287 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Deere & Company worth $147,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Deere & Company stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $400.61. 384,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,475,446. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.55 and a 1 year high of $450.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $386.06 and its 200 day moving average is $383.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $111.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 27.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.