Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in AGCO Corporation by 1,250.3%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company valued at $10.57 million by the end of the first quarter.
• AGCO announced a share buyback plan of $1 billion to repurchase up to 12.2% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.35 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 18.8% to $2.64 billion.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO - Free Report) by 1,250.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 105,679 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of AGCO worth $10,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AGCO in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in AGCO by 400.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new position in AGCO in the first quarter valued at $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in AGCO by 140.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AGCO by 66.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 908 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AGCO

In other AGCO news, SVP Kelvin Eugene Bennett sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.18, for a total value of $26,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,845,408.40. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.90% of the company's stock.

AGCO Price Performance

Shares of AGCO opened at $109.72 on Monday. AGCO Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.79 and a fifty-two week high of $121.16. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.48.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. AGCO had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AGCO Corporation will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

AGCO Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. AGCO's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AGCO. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of AGCO in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of AGCO from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AGCO from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AGCO from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.63.

About AGCO

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.

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