Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Holdings in Deere & Company $DE

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DE. Anchyra Partners LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 2,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $631.45 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $433.00 and a 1 year high of $674.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $573.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $556.89. The company has a market cap of $170.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.64 EPS. Deere & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DE. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $672.00 to $607.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $765.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.58.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.