South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 1,300 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $3,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Deere & Company from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.28.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of DE opened at $394.62 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.55 and a 52 week high of $450.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $386.62 and a 200-day moving average of $383.47.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $6.55 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Deere & Company Profile

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.