Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,737 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,737 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Deere & Company were worth $45,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DE. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 78,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC now owns 49,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $847,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $513.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $516.75.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.3%

DE stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $507.89. 739,257 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,406,012. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $533.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $473.84 and a 200-day moving average of $460.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. Deere & Company's quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

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 1.28%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.