State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 57,681 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 37.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,681 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $36,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 725.0% during the 1st quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DE. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Deere & Company from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets upped their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Deere & Company from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $414.11.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of Deere & Company stock opened at $388.59 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $417.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $370.53 and its 200 day moving average is $381.10. The stock has a market cap of $107.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.94 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.