Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 661 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $25,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 414.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,812 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 94,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $520.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company has a market capitalization of $141.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $495.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.56. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 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 Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $542.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company 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.