Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,687 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $22,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Deere & Company by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE traded down $0.26 on Tuesday, reaching $479.70. 808,216 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,819. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $474.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.56.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on DE. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus set a $510.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.00.

About Deere & Company

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.