Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 10,937 AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGCO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AGCO by 128.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,504,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,026,000 after buying an additional 3,654,350 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of AGCO by 534.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,901,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444,615 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in AGCO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,022,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in AGCO by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,135,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $105,129,000 after acquiring an additional 436,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in AGCO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,185,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AGCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on AGCO from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of AGCO in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised AGCO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AGCO from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AGCO from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.63.

AGCO Stock Performance

Shares of AGCO opened at $110.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.05. AGCO Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.79 and a 52 week high of $121.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.29. AGCO had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AGCO Corporation will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGCO declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AGCO Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. AGCO’s payout ratio is presently 86.57%.

AGCO Profile

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.