Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Treasury Department

State of Tennessee Treasury Department trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,185 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department owned 0.06% of Deere & Company worth $73,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,380,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,801 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,326,177,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,576,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,962,085,000 after acquiring an additional 554,133 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 295.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 695,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,113,000 after acquiring an additional 519,711 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 2,754.5% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 531,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,481,000 after acquiring an additional 512,962 shares in the last quarter. 66.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DE shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $455.00 to $484.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $493.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $458.53.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $4.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $407.53. The company had a trading volume of 363,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,626. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $417.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $117.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $328.62 and a 1-year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.14 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 33.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,398,598.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,398,598.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes 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 mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, 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.