Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $479.73 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $130.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $470.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $435.32. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $460.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deere & 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.