Arizona State Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in Deere & Company by 3.9% in Q4, selling 2,944 shares and now holding 72,230 shares valued at about $33.63 million.
• Analysts show a generally positive but mixed view — the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $655.45 (16 Buy vs. 9 Hold), while individual targets range from Citigroup's $625 neutral to Truist/Raymond James' $793/$765 buy targets.
• Deere beat Q4 expectations with $2.42 EPS (vs. $1.90 expected) and $9.61B revenue (vs. $7.50B expected), reported 17.5% revenue growth year-over-year, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.62 ($6.48 annual, ~1.1% yield).

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,944 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $33,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,091,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $390,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Juno Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $4,133,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DE. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $675.00 to $625.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $612.00 to $793.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $592.76 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $594.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $524.92. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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