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

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,654 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Deere & Company were worth $7,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 20.5% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its stake in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $710,000. Royal Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 99.8% in the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at $1,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.1 %

DE traded up $4.31 on Friday, hitting $398.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,168,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,512. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $404.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $385.69. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $420.47.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.20 earnings per share. Deere & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 20.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Deere & Company from $443.00 to $496.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $420.69.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.