Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,002 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock traded up $8.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $480.44. The stock had a trading volume of 903,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,000. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $515.05. The stock has a market cap of $130.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average price is $473.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.88. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DE. StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $546.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W cut Deere & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $460.00.

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.