Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $7.21 Million in Deere & Company $DE

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 12,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,210,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Deere & Company by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,153,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $631.45 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $433.00 and a 1-year high of $674.19. The company has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $573.78 and a 200-day moving average of $556.89.

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

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DE. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $775.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.