State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 88,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,748 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $41,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $612.00 to $793.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $502.00 to $672.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of DE opened at $574.67 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $433.00 and a 12 month high of $674.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $591.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $155.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.