Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,624 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $23,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $400.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $388.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.65. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.55 and a 1 year high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $494.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Melius lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.28.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of 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 large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, 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.