Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Acquired by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 254.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,769 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $529.58. 1,272,875 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,205. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $468.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.02. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $534.58. The company has a market cap of $143.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares in the company, valued at $37,484,675.58. The trade was a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $495.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $513.00.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.