Deere & Company $DE Stake Increased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 910,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 79,193 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.34% of Deere & Company worth $416,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Deere & Company by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. United Community Bank grew its stake in Deere & Company by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 92 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DE shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $541.00 to $736.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:DE opened at $577.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $564.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $404.42 and a 52 week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.