Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 77,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,948,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DE. Broderick Brian C raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 1,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $2,017,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $430.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.78. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $515.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $116.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus set a $510.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.00.

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.