AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Sets New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $113.80 and last traded at $112.61, with a volume of 41027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.95.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. AGCO's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $106.00 price objective on shares of AGCO in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AGCO from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AGCO from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of AGCO in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on AGCO from $109.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AGCO currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.40.

AGCO Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of -14.21, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $103.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.96.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.38. AGCO had a positive return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 5.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AGCO Corporation will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

AGCO announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kelvin Eugene Bennett sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.18, for a total transaction of $26,545.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,380 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,408.40. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGCO

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGCO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of AGCO by 128.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,504,328 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,026,000 after buying an additional 3,654,350 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in AGCO by 534.7% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,444,615 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in AGCO by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,360,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $220,641,000 after acquiring an additional 961,081 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGCO in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,022,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AGCO in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,321,000. 78.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGCO Company 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.