American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in AGCO Corporation $AGCO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AGCO Corporation by 23.5% to own approximately 0.21% of the company, valued at $14.256 million.
• AGCO announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, indicating their belief that shares are currently undervalued.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a significant drop in revenue, down 18.8% year-over-year, although they exceeded earnings per share estimates at $1.35.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO - Free Report) by 23.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,310 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of AGCO worth $14,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGCO. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in AGCO during the first quarter worth approximately $1,212,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AGCO by 66.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 908 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AGCO by 9.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,293 shares in the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AGCO by 9.0% during the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 29,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,771,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in AGCO by 140.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AGCO shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of AGCO in a report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of AGCO from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of AGCO in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AGCO from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AGCO from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGCO has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.63.

AGCO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGCO traded down $0.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $113.17. 427,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,976. AGCO Corporation has a 1 year low of $73.79 and a 1 year high of $121.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $109.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.05. The company has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.45, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.21.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.29. AGCO had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. AGCO has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-5.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AGCO Corporation will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. AGCO's payout ratio is currently 86.57%.

AGCO declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AGCO

In related news, SVP Luis Fernando Sartini Felli sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $1,094,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,076.60. The trade was a 38.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 16.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.