Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Sold by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lowered its position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,495 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $31,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total transaction of $12,304,993.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.00.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $478.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $466.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $433.63. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $515.05. The company has a market capitalization of $129.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

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.