South Dakota Investment Council Has $11.40 Million Position in Deere & Company (DE)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 44.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84,580 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Deere & were worth $11,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DE. TrueNorth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & during the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & during the fourth quarter valued at $4,976,000. Searle & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & during the fourth quarter valued at $1,182,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & during the fourth quarter valued at $965,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & during the fourth quarter valued at $2,163,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Deere & Company (DE) opened at 126.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.21 and a 200 day moving average of $114.02. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $76.73 and a 12 month high of $129.00.

Deere & (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $7.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Deere & had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 24.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post $6.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 28th. Deere &’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.24%.

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A number of equities research analysts have commented on DE shares. BidaskClub raised shares of Deere & from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. lifted their target price on shares of Deere & from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Barclays PLC set a $100.00 target price on shares of Deere & and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 4th. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Deere & in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $151.00 target price on shares of Deere & and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.24.

In other Deere & news, insider John C. May II sold 19,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.57, for a total transaction of $2,499,721.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,192.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samuel R. Allen sold 62,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $7,838,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 333,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,686,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,612 shares of company stock valued at $13,149,023 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company is engaged in equipment operations. The Company is engaged in providing financial services. The Company operates through three business segments: agriculture and turf, construction and forestry, and financial services. The agriculture and turf segment manufactures and distributes a line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.

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