Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 78.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,970 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 8.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,994,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,431,000 after acquiring an additional 158,732 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,731,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $722,733,000 after acquiring an additional 85,401 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

DE stock opened at $480.17 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $446.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. Analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $546.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $450.12.

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.