Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,001 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $15,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.7% in the first quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 4,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors boosted its position in Deere & Company by 2.3% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $416.47 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $420.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $114.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $381.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $384.65.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $410.50.

About Deere & Company

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.