Deere & Company $DE Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,658 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Deere & Company were worth $22,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $2,084,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 4.5% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 243,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management raised its position in Deere & Company by 0.4% during the second quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 203,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,469,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Deere & Company by 8.9% during the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of DE opened at $477.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $387.03 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $469.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $489.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $595.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.72.

About Deere & Company

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.