New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,296 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,149 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Deere & Company worth $94,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,244,094,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 61,215.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,753,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $822,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,163 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,792,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,736 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $2,364,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $515.19.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE traded up $7.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $516.16. 470,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,569. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $502.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.86. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The firm has a market cap of $139.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.53 EPS. The business's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.