Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DE. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $496.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $419.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.