Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 121 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $9,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 560,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $237,424,000 after acquiring an additional 68,272 shares in the last quarter. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $1,074,000. DMKC Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $1,869,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Deere & Company by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $478.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $454.92 and its 200 day moving average is $424.30. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DE. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $454.65.

Deere & 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.