Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new position in AGCO Corporation, purchasing approximately 10,937 shares valued at $1.01 million during the first quarter.
• AGCO recently reported second-quarter earnings of $1.35 EPS, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.06, although its revenue declined by 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has also authorized a $1 billion share buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,937 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in AGCO by 128.2% in 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of AGCO by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,984,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $278,951,000 after purchasing an additional 258,054 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,444,615 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AGCO by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,744,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $256,522,000 after acquiring an additional 39,966 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in shares of AGCO by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,027,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $187,664,000 after acquiring an additional 35,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AGCO from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of AGCO in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on AGCO from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on AGCO from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.63.

AGCO Trading Down 3.4%

AGCO traded down $3.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $111.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,075,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,640. AGCO Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.79 and a twelve month high of $121.16. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $107.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.18, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.21.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.29. AGCO had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 0.98%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AGCO Corporation will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. AGCO's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.57%.

AGCO declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 12.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AGCO

In other AGCO news, SVP Luis Fernando Sartini Felli sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,771,076.60. This 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

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.