State of Wisconsin Investment Board Sells 2,315 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

State of Wisconsin Investment Board reduced its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 132,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,315 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $61,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. &PARTNERS grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 33,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the period. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $805,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,583,000. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 71,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,319,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $700,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE opened at $586.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $158.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $573.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $550.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 18.13 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $639.58.

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.