Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires 5,970 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 78.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,970 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE traded down $5.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $489.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,102,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,614. The company has a market cap of $133.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $452.07 and a 200 day moving average of $420.91. 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 has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Deere & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company 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 value of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $454.65.

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.