California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 14,053 Shares of Deere & Company $DE

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 831,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,053 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.31% of Deere & Company worth $422,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 24,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,204,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,871,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,386,000 after buying an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,496,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Deere & Company by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $475.13 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $403.01 and a 12-month high of $533.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $467.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.95.

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.