Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Grows Stock Position in AGCO Corporation $AGCO

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in AGCO Corporation by 38.7%, now holding approximately 920,431 shares worth about $85 million.
• AGCO recently reported $1.35 earnings per share, beating analyst estimates, although revenue was down by 18.8% compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan, allowing it to reacquire up to 12.2% of its stock, indicating confidence in its current valuation.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO - Free Report) by 38.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 920,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 256,953 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.23% of AGCO worth $85,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AGCO by 1.7% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 8,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AGCO by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of AGCO by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 27,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of AGCO by 1.1% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,857 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of AGCO by 1.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of AGCO in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AGCO from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on AGCO from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on AGCO from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AGCO from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Luis Fernando Sartini Felli sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,771,076.60. This trade represents a 38.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 16.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AGCO Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:AGCO traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.14. 518,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,787. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $107.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.24. AGCO Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.79 and a twelve month high of $121.16. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.43, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21.

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

AGCO Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 86.57%.

AGCO declared that its board 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.