Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Acquired by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,245 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $19,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,244,094,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,155,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $913,334,000 after purchasing an additional 160,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Deere & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,063,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $874,473,000 after buying an additional 107,544 shares during the period. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,484,675.58. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

DE stock traded down $2.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $458.61. The stock had a trading volume of 288,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,213. The firm has a market cap of $124.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $470.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $443.98. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $515.05.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 28.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $501.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Deere & Company from $462.00 to $440.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $437.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued 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 $459.89.

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.