Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stake Lessened by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $147,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $400.61. The company had a trading volume of 384,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,446. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $111.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $383.26. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $345.55 and a fifty-two week high of $450.00.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

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.