Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,604 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,566,884,000 after acquiring an additional 157,224 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after buying an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,247,216,000 after acquiring an additional 97,203 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,587,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,179,000 after purchasing an additional 184,203 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Down 2.3 %

DE stock opened at $441.89 on Tuesday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $469.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $445.21. The company has a market cap of $119.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. As a group, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $459.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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